Diary of a Demon's Slave
by Oreana Galena
Summary: The slave trade continues in Makai and its demonic cities, as seen through the eyes of a demon slave—sequel to The Worthless Humans.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Notes**_: It was a few years ago when I finished The Worthless Humans, and I promised myself, in due time, I would write a sequel when I felt ready. It just didn't feel right doing it right away. As the thoughts churned in my head, I actually posted small snippets in my private journal for my friend, Raist, to read up on. I have accumulated enough of the snippets and thoughts to have a story to work with.

If you have not read the first part of the story, The Worthless Humans, I suggest you do so. Or maybe this one will prompt you to read the other. Either way, here is the first chapter of the sequel. Thanks, once again, all of those who stayed with TWH. It means a lot. :)

**For Fanfiction users, the first story was never published on this site due to the extreme content in it. If you wish to read it, there is a link in my profile to take you to the story. This one, while it will contain a good bit of the same atmosphere as TWH, I plan on trying to censor it best I can without ripping it completely apart. We'll see how it goes.**

_**Description**_: The slave trade continues in Makai and its demonic cities, as seen through the eyes of a demon slave—sequel to The Worthless Humans.(**NC-17-will be edited here due to content**) (**Rape**)

_**Disclaimer**_: Yu Yu Hakusho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi and **NOT ME**! All other original characters created by me are copywrite to me and are to remain so.

_**Musical Inspiration**_: "Bad Romance" – Lady Gaga

"Trial by Fire of Doom" – The Lizard of Odd

"Fallen Leaves" – Billy Talent

"Ever, Ever After" – Carrie Underwood

* * *

_We never asked for this. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, they came and took away our humanity._

_They questioned us…_

_They beat us…_

_They took us from our homes…_

It wasn't perfect, but I want to go home. I want to go home now…

_By Gwen Johnson_

Years Earlier in Spirit World

"What do you mean he's coming!" Exclaimed young Koenma right into George's ear, his pacifier nearly flying from his mouth. "I thought I already explained to him that my office was off limits to him after his latest incident here!"

Right down the hallway, a black foxtail could be seen swishing from side to side as the young demon stormed through the corridor to head to Koenma's office door. His fox ears twitched almost out of irritation, a subtle growl following. The door slamming open, he stood there with his ears pinned back and his sharp, demonic teeth showing. His hair, such a soft blond that it almost looked white, framed the front of his face quite well in a few layers, and his eyes a light green in color glared ahead at the chair Koenma often sat within. "Koenma!" He growled more than yelled.

"O-Okuro! What have I told you about coming in here unannounced!" The young ruler exclaimed with a wave of his hand across the desk. "I swear, you're just as bad as your father…," he mostly mumbled to himself.

Okuro cared not for Koenma's babble, even if he could hear every word of it. Trying to act tough, he pounded his fist into his open palm while walking towards the ruler's desk. "Why haven't you sent any recent reports my way? I thought you agreed to send any recent kidnappings or missings on Human World my way!"

Koenma slunk down in his chair, scratching the side of his head rather nervously. "Well, you see…there is no point for that anymore, Okuro. I have my best detective working on it, Yusuke Urameshi. He, with your birth father, can handle things just fine."

His eyes narrowing, Okuro looked Koenma hard with a slight grumbling sound in his throat. "There is something you're not telling me." His bushy, foxtail swayed from side to side.

"Look," Koenma began with a heavy sigh, "your father, Kuronue, asked me not to send anything your way but to his." He placed his head within his palm knowing that Okuro wouldn't like that one bit. "And quite frankly, I am more frightened of him than you."

"Koenma!" Okuro barked angrily, leaning further over the desk.

"After your last mess up, what was I supposed to say!" Koenma said to the angered mix breed. When Okuro managed to give the young ruler some breathing room, he dismissed himself from his seat to walk to the windows behind his chair. "I know you want this all to end in fear of what it may do to others, and your heart is in the right place, but you still have much to learn from your father." He let the demon think over his words before continuing. "Those demons in Makai won't hesitate to tear you apart if you make any indication that you are going to stop the human trafficking. At the very least, you could learn to use those daggers and swords of yours better if you refuse to use your ability to manipulate plants like Kurama can."

"You know I don't use that damned ability for a reason," he hissed through his teeth. Having to remember the Makai plants that Kurama used on occasion, he saw in the past of his mother being raped and abused by them. Shaking the thought from his head, he turned his focus back on Koenma.

"I understand, but if you want to take back any news relating to the topic, tell Kuronue this…" Koenma paused with a heavy sigh. His eyes closed to collect his thoughts, he reopened them to look out at the dark clouds about the castle. "…The demons are now operating on humans…"

Okuro's ears perked up with an added gasp. "What!"

"They are making it harder to track trafficked humans by putting in a demon heart in replace of their human heart." He turned around with his hands behind his back to look up seriously at Okuro. "With a demon heart in their body, overtime, their human scent vanishes as demon blood will pump through their body. And even if we DO find them…we cannot bring them back over to the human world, as they are sadly considered…no longer human."

"How can humans even survive such an operation?" Okuro was in disbelief over what he had just heard. It was one thing to do a heart transplant from demon to demon or human to human, but both hearts pumped differently.

"Some sadly don't," Koenma admitted seriously in his child voice. "And I wish their death on that table would be the end of their torment, but it sadly isn't. If their soul dies in Demon World, I cannot retrieve it. They will be forced to roam the depths of Makai as a lost soul until becoming that of a demon."

Okuro lowered his head somberly, not wishing to think of such a fate for anybody. "Maybe there is something we can do for them." When Koenma didn't answer, he sighed through his nostrils, knowing it would be almost impossible himself to find a solution. "Alright then, I will go back to father and mother and tell them of this."

Koenma heard the boy's steps lead him out of the young ruler's office. When the door shut, he moaned a bit in worry. "Yusuke, I really hope you know what you're doing out there…"

DIARY OF A DEMON'S SLAVE

The breeze was welcoming that hot and sunny afternoon, as the college students began moving about in the opening to get to their next classes or just get ready to go home. Pushing open the doors from the main college building, Gwenevere made her way outside just in time to get almost bombarded by a bunch of cherry blossoms from a nearby tree. Brushing the pedals from her brown hair, she could hear her cell phone ringing within her purse. Pulling out the red covered phone, she recognized the name instantly and a smile graced her lips.

"Jade!" She said out loud in excitement. "Hey, girl! How goes everything?" Knowing she couldn't walk and talk at the same time, Gwenevere stopped for a moment near one of the outside benches to talk to her best friend, who she had known for three years and counting.

"Not much," Jade responded from the other side of the line. "I just finished getting my birds settled for the day. You should have heard them carry on."

As the conversation carried on, Gwenevere didn't notice two male strangers in the distance watching her contently. They appeared to be ordinary young men. One was Asian in appearance, and he looked up at his taller counterpart with a bit of a smirk. He gave a thumbs up to his friend, apparently glad to receive a nod from the taller blond. "What do you think?" The Asian male asked.

"The boss will like this one. Just stay here." Jumping down from the tree he was resting within, the dusty blond haired boy walked casually over towards where Gwenevere was standing. His hands in his pockets, he pretended halfway there that he wasn't looking where he was going, causing him to bump into Gwenevere and make the young girl drop her phone.

"Hey!" Gwenevere growled in defense, annoyed that her call had been interrupted. "What's the big idea!"

"My apologizes!" He attempted to sweet talk to the young woman, helping her with her phone. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Apparently," she grumbled, taking back her cell phone eagerly, afraid he may try to steal it. Her jungle green eyes glared at the stranger, hoping he would leave her to talk to her friend. "Just watch it next time." Gwenevere kept her eyes on the young man until leaving the area. "Sorry about that, Jade. Some whacko just bumped right into me."

"Weird," said Jade's voice over the phone.

The Asian male joining his side soon enough, the young blond narrowed his eyes at Gwenevere's back with a bit of a smirk. "I got the homing device in her purse fast enough. They should be able to get her sometime tonight!" He watched as the unsuspecting female made her way to her car to head home within.

With her spaghetti done, Gwenevere turned off the stove to serve herself some. With it almost nearing seven, she knew it was time to sit down and enjoy some TV with her roommate gone for the evening. She was relieved she had nobody to fight with when it came to the remote. "Thank goodness," Gwenevere said to herself, propping her feet up on the coffee table. "Just me, the TV, and peace and quiet."

Upon saying so, however, Gwenevere could hear something rustling out on the terrace. Taking a quick bite out of her pasta, she turned her head to the sliding door. "Hello?" Muting the TV, she placed her plate down on the table she previously had her feet upon to head towards the door to the balcony that their apartment had. She watched as the curtains swayed about almost eerily before slowly opening the door. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Her bare feet stepped outside cautiously. Looking about the empty balcony, she felt as though she was being watched. "H-Hello…?"

At that moment, a sudden meow came from one of the chairs to show a hidden, orange cat. The creature looking up at Gwenevere innocently, it meowed once more to show it was possibly the reason for the ruckus earlier.

Gwenevere sighed with a shake of her head. "Hobbes," she groaned, picking up the troublemaker. "What am I going to do with you?" Before stepping back inside with her roommate's cat, she checked once more to make sure that nothing else was outside on the terrace. Sliding the door shut and locking it, she held the cat out in front of her to rub noses with the friendly feline. "You silly little kitty. You almost gave me a heart attack!" Placing Hobbes down on the sofa near her, she went back to relaxing in front of the TV for the night.

With her dinner done for the night as well as her shows an hour or so later, Gwenevere turned the TV off and got to her feet to stretch out her exhaustion. She knew it was late and time to turn in. Looking at the slumbering cat next to her, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Apparently you even know when it is time to go to bed, don't you, Hobbes?" Picking up the orange striped cat, Gwenevere made her way down the hallway to her bedroom on the right. "I am sure you'll like it with me tonight."

Just as the cat got a whiff of the air, his golden eyes sprung open and each hair stood on end. Hissing wildly, the cat leapt out of Gwenevere's arms and tore down the hall, back to the living room and kitchen area.

Gwenevere found the behavior quite odd. She merely shrugged at it, however, as she opened her bedroom door. Nothing was odd about her room that she could tell in the dim lighting of the full moon that night. "Silly cat," she yawned to herself. "I wonder what has gotten into him." Before she could think to open her closet, darkness overtook her vision from a bag being pulled over it. Panic stricken, she fought against whoever it was that had her only to feel her arms and legs bound. "What's going on! Let me go!"

Three lower class demons had managed to make it inside of Gwenevere's bedroom that night. Two of them had green skin, human like clothing, and black hair. They almost looked like twins. The other had blue skin with white hair. Each one of them almost looked like human lizards. With the two twin-like lizard demons taking care of the human woman, the other looked around the bedroom with a smirk. Finding the woman's purse, he pulled the tracking device out of it.

"All too easy," he smirked, showing the others the device.

"Did you get her belongings?" One of the twins asked.

Sighing at their eager behavior to leave the Human World, he showed the bag where he had collected some of the female woman's closest items. "Yeah, yeah, they are all here. I guess if you guys want to leave now, we can."

"We have to leave quickly!" Here, they made their way back out to the balcony from the living room, ignoring the hissing and frightened Hobbes, who was hiding in the darkness of the living room. "Who knows when one of Koenma's demon lackeys are going to come and steal this opportunity from us!" Regardless of the woman kicking and screaming to be let go, the demons quickly made haste back from whence they came from—Makai.

_I don't know what happened after that moment. All I know was I was tired after they dragged me to wherever it was they meant to take me due to my screaming and crying._

_When the bag was pulled from my head, I found myself in a solitary room. I was shoved to the floor like some worthless mutt._

_05/2009_

"She's not perfect, but she will do," remarked an almost goblin looking demon from the door. He shifted the brown hat upon his long, black hair he tied back in a ponytail. "So where is this one from?"

"The southern part of America, Tokukami," the blue skinned lizard demon responded. "Thanks to our two human spies, they were able to put the tracking device inside of her purse, so we could peruse her." In different areas of the world, humans of all kinds had been hired to capture young men and women to lure down to Makai for money sake. They often put tracking devices on the targets somewhere by any means, so the demons on the surface could find them and bring them to Demon World.

"They could have done better than this," the demon named Tokukami remarked with a disapproving frown. "Looking at her stomach, you'd think she was about to have a child."

Having her appearance poked at was the least of Gwenevere's troubles, as she looked about the rather small room filled with nothing but hay. "Where…where am I?" She boldly asked, picking herself up gradually with her back against the wall.

"So, she speaks now?" The big ears of the goblin moved slightly, as he looked up at the demon beside him. "I think she might be ready for questioning now. Don't you think?" With a simple snap of his fingers, Tokukami sent the demon after Gwenevere once more.

Seeing the beast coming towards her, Gwenevere felt like a caged animal. Her heart racing, she pushed her back against the wall even harder. "N-No! Get away from me!" She yelled, ducking under the demon and attempting to run out the door. Just as she was about to make a mad dash out of the iron door, she felt the demon behind her grab her elbow length hair. Screaming in pain, it brought Gwenevere to a quick halt.

With Gwenevere back in his grasp, he pushed her harshly back down on the ground with an angry spat. "Stay! You stupid beast!" The low class demon growled.

Tokukami felt nothing at the sight before him. He was the owner of the business, and the more humans he had, the better. "Since she doesn't want to go willingly, chain her up and take her to Xelna." With that said, the goblin like demon turned and left through the door to go about the underground business he was working on.

The cold shackle put around her neck, the nameless demon pulled on the cold chain to make Gwenevere move from where she was. Her bare feet hitting the cold iron ground beneath her, she looked nervously around her at the hallway she was within. So many screams, of what seemed like agony, could be heard from every corner of the building she was within. A simple tug on the chain bringing her back to her senses, Gwenevere nearly stumbled forward when the two came to another door, just like all the others. They only difference was it had the word '**Questioning**' on it in black, faded lettering.

"Since you're so talkative, I am sure Xelna would love to hear some facts about you." Opening the door, he kicked in the frightened woman, causing her to fall forwards and land on her front.

Thinking the door was her only way out, she quickly got up to try and escape, only to be too late when it shut right in her face. Her fists banging on the door, she rested her forehead against the entryway with a few, soft sobs. "Why are you doing this to me?" She asked mostly to herself.

"Because you could cost us a fortune," responded a female voice from behind Gwenevere. Seeing the human woman spin around, a grin graced the serpent demon's lips. Her delicate hands overlapped under her chin, she gazed at the human with her narrow, golden eyes. "Humans are a big thing here in Demon World. Some take them as pets, servants, and even sex slaves."

"What are you talking about?" Gwenevere asked frantically, her eyes locked on Xelna's.

"Sometimes there are even human auctions," Xelna continued, as she pushed herself up from where she was sitting to show off her slim, almost perfect womanly figure. "They are usually done by the richest demons, though." Her long, white hair flowed over her shoulders, as Xelna looked Gwenevere up and down. "Now, why don't you have a seat?"

Finding this one to be a bit gentler, Gwenevere hesitantly took her up on the offer. Taking the rusty seat in front of the table Xelna was behind, she watched as the serpent woman sat back down upon her own. "Where am I…?" She asked quietly, nervousness trickling on every word.

"You're in Makai, my dear. A world filled with demons," she answered, shuffling a few papers on her desk. "Now, I am going to ask you quite a few questions about yourself, and you're going to answer each one honestly." Xelna leaned back in her chair slightly with her legs crossed contently. "So, what is your full name?"

"Gwenevere Elaine Johnson—I prefer it when people call me Gwen though. Gwenevere sounds so…Dark Ages," she answered honestly.

"How old are you and when is your birthday?" Xelna continued, jotting down what Gwenevere had just mentioned.

"I am 21 years old, and my birthday is February 21st."

"Your weight and height?"

Gwenevere was dumbfounded by the amount of questions. She hesitated to answer the current one. "What is with all these questions? What is the point of this?" She asked the demon sitting before her.

Hearing such a defensive question, Xelna looked at the young woman through her long, white hair. Removing her pen from the paper she had in front of her, she looked condescendingly down on Gwenevere. "We gather every bit of detail of each slave we bring down here just in case someone is looking for something specific. From your name and age, all the way down to what you did just a few days ago," she remarked almost coldly. "Now, once more—," here she grabbed the chain and pulled on it harshly to cause Gwenevere's face to meet with the desk. "—What is your weight and height?"

Flinching from the pain, she let out a brief cry of dismay. "I am 5'5, and I don't know how much I weigh! I never bother to check that often!" She yelled, covering her head with her arms.

Snorting irritably at the defiant human, she grabbed the chain to pull Gwenevere from where she was sitting. "Come this way then, and take off your clothes."

Not wishing to have a hand raised to her or have the chain yanked again, Gwenevere did as she was asked. Standing there naked, she couldn't help but want to cover herself back up with her arms. The demon catching her reaction, she was forced to remove her arms and keep them at her sides when pulled onto a scale to be weighed.

"You're just below 125 pounds," Xelna announced, writing it down on her pad. "You could afford to lose some weight." Here, she pointed at Gwenevere's stomach before removing her from the scale. "I am sure we can get that fixed up somewhere with you being here."

_The questioning went on for days. It didn't just end that day. They would drag me out of that horrible hay they considered 'bed' at probably 4 in the morning just to get more answers out of me. They got every detail about me, in the end of the third day. The woman who did the questioning wasn't joking when she said they would get every bit about me. They even forced me to indulge personal information about myself involving my sex life._

_When the questioning was done, they put a cover over my head and moved me to another portion of the building._

_05/2009_

"Where are you taking me?" Gwenevere asked in a stuttering tone under the black sheet they had over her head.

The chain about the shackle on her neck was tugged to get her to stop talking. The demon with blond hair, though human almost in appearance minus double horns upon his head, growled at the woman. "If you don't watch that mouth of yours, you'll wind up in quite a bit of trouble. Now come on!" Here, he pulled the chain once more before stopping after a few more paces. Pulling the cover from Gwenevere's head, he let her take in her current surroundings.

The room had many different cages, each one filled with more than one human. They all looked like cramped animals to Gwenevere. Each one looked rather dirty and exhausted. Her eyes approaching the cage in front of her, she shook her head at the iron wiring that would keep her locked in. The demon's hand meeting with her back, Gwenevere fell upon the hay flooring. With her wrists bound together, she couldn't move quickly enough to try and escape. All she could do was look over her shoulder to witness as the demon closed and locked her within her new confinement.

Her fingers gripped the chains tightly, as she watched the demon walk away to leave her in her new space. Taking in a shaky breath, Gwenevere lowered her head to hide the tears that threatened to stream down her face. "It is all just a dream," she mumbled to herself, prying herself from the fence enclosure. "All I have to do is lie down, go to sleep, and when I wake back up, I'll be back at my apartment. Yeah, that's it." Convincing herself of such a thing regardless of the days she had been there, Gwenevere curled up on the hay beneath her to catch a bit more sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of a whip cracking echoed throughout the dreary halls, one of the demons was trying to beat Gwenevere into submission. The chain tied to a hook on the blood stained walls, she found it impossible to move out of its range. "Stop!" She yelled in tears, her back against the corner, hoping that the demon would find it within himself to leave her be. "Please, stop!"

"**SILENCE**!" Yelled the werewolf looking demon. His yellow stained teeth glistened from the lit scones on the stonewalls. "You will learn to be quiet unless spoken to!" Anytime Gwenevere threatened to open her mouth, he would use the whip against her pallid skin.

The feel of the whip lashing at her skin brought Gwenevere to her knees. Her body felt as though it were on fire from all the continuous torment. She crawled her way to the nearest corner to ball up in a fetal position. With her hands guarding her head, she trembled with hope that he wouldn't use the whip on her again.

"Stop cowering like a damn mouse!" The demon demanded, walking over to grab Gwenevere by her messy hair again. Regardless of her crying, he dragged the woman from the corner she was scrunched up within. Just as he was about to raise his hand to her again, he stopped upon hearing the door open.

The blue skinned lizard demon appeared within the doorway, his thin, spider-like fingers tapped against the woodwork. "Tokukami wants to know how the breaking of this one goes, Nobu." His serpent tail moved from side to side, as he leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed. "He wanted to try and sell this one sometime soon."

A sarcastic chuckle overtook the wolf demon. "I don't think this one will be ready to sell just yet. She still doesn't know her place." He watched as Gwenevere slowly rose up off of the ground. Taking his foot, he shoved it harshly onto the back of her head. "Stay down!" Nobu's voice was so loud that it reverberated off of the walls around them.

"Take it easy." The lizard demon suggested, pushing Nobu back away from Gwenevere. "If you kill her, I doubt Tokukami is going to take kindly to it."

"Well, I am done with this human beast, Yuki." Nobu handed over the chain to Yuki, as he made his way out of the room. He had other humans on his list to set straight, and he wasn't about to waste his time with just the one he had been trying to break for a while.

Looking down at the sobbing woman, Yuki raised his brow to show he was unimpressed with the display before him. "Come on, you." He pulled on the chain to make Gwenevere move from where she was lying.

Gwenevere was nearly drug off of the floor when she felt the lizard like demon pulling her from where she was. Struggling to find her feet, she walked with her head lowered back to the cage she was usually put in. All of the humans had been separated and put in different cages as the days passed, instead of them all being caged two by two. With her enclosure coming into view, she felt the demon push her right into the hay bedding once more. It was the same routine, and Gwenevere was almost getting used to it. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she covered her face from everyone nearby.

The doors at the front of the room several feet down from Gwenevere's cage flew open. She paid them no heed as she usually heard them open with somebody new coming into the group. "Let me go!" A familiar female voice yelled angrily. "Let me go!"

Wondering if Gwenevere was imagining it, she quickly ran to her cage door to look down the row of cages to see her best friend, Jade. She rarely ever got to see her online friend, as they were many hours from one another. "Oh my God…," Gwenevere mumbled to herself in disbelief. "Jade!" She yelled, pushing her thin arm out from the cage wiring to try and reach her friend.

Hearing her name, Jade spun around to spy Gwenevere trapped within the many cages. "Gwen!" Trying her best to break free from her shackles, Jade shook back and forth with her wild, coffee-brown hair and pink bangs flowing from side to side. Growling angrily, Jade's sapphire eyes looked over her shoulder at the demon trying to keep her from escaping. "For the last time, I said let **GO**!" Ramming her elbow into the demon's chest, she ran quickly for Gwenevere's cage when her window of opportunity to run from the beast opened. Her wrists still bound, she grabbed onto Gwenevere's hand. "I cannot believe they captured you as well!"

Seeing the demon's shadow coming over Jade, Gwenevere panicked. "Jade, run!"

The demon coming up from behind Jade, he wrapped his arms around her front to make sure she couldn't move her arms as freely as before. "Easy there, girl," the demon whispered with a devilish smirk. Even if Jade continued to squirm, he refused to release her until managing to push her within the cage he was ordered to place her within. Shutting the cage door on her face, he laughed at the mad frown the female woman gave him. "I wouldn't recommend trying that again. You just might upset the wrong person." Smirking to himself, he walked back down the row of pens to head out of the zoo like atmosphere.

"How long have they had you here?" Jade asked once the demon disappeared from the room, trying to call over to Gwenevere.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Each day just feels so long. It was back in May that they took me." Gwenevere placed her fingers through her hair, trying her best to remember what all had transpired since that day.

"No wonder I haven't heard from you in so long," Jade remarked almost breathlessly. "It is almost August!"

Gwenevere widened her eyes in disbelief. "It…it has been that long?"

_It was hard to believe that many weeks, let alone, months, had passed. Each day I had been whipped, beaten, and starved to the point I probably lost all that weight they had been griping about when they first brought me down. I was taught how to act whenever I was to have a master—to basically be an obedient dog._

_Every day I would watch them drag Jade out of her own cage to be put through the same torture as me. She refused to break under them. I admired her strength and courage, which was all something I couldn't find within myself to obtain through the long drawn out days._

_07/2009_

Within the forested regions of Makai, just outside of the demon city, the clean wind touched upon the lush greenery, which went on for miles. Suddenly, a cold breeze began to blow, followed by a trail of ice. The ice slowly began to encase everything, as if it were alive. Everything perfectly crystallized in a case of frost, the demon responsible stepped forwards while continuing his ice attacks upon the slippery surface of the ground he created with his powers. Being a shinobi of ice abilities, Touya continued to perfect his talents the best he could should he ever have to use them again. Powering up his ice shards in his right palm, he quickly spun around to blast them at a nearby tree before firing another barrage from his left palm at another tree.

Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, he brought his hands back in front of his face to try and recollect power within his palms by concentrating on sending the force there. Upon feeling it at hand, he tried to send the stream throughout his entire body next. Slowly but surely, he could feel it beginning to overtake him. Just as he felt he was at his peek of power, the rustling of the nearby bushes outside of his barrier caught his attention and broke his focus. His eyes flying open, he threw a powerful, icy chill blast in that direction.

Whatever was hiding there quickly escaped into the sky making him sigh irritably. "Jin, you bastard," he called up into the sky. "This is no time for your games!"

Hovering upside down in midair, Jin grinned widely with his hands behind his head. "I am sorry. I didn't expect to startle you."

Bringing his power back under control, Touya released the icy barrier he had stretched over a good bit of the forest, prompting everything to go back to normal. "You know, it wouldn't hurt for you as well to work on your own abilities." Relaxing his muscles and his mind, he made his way back to the house that they shared out in the surrounding forest. It was a one story, old-fashioned Japanese style house they had managed to find and make do with. "Just because we're out of the shinobi sect doesn't mean we can get lazy."

Jin followed Touya within the house, chuckling playfully. "I know that." Catching the paper just outside of their home, the wind master picked it up to bring inside before closing the front door. Tossing it on the wooden table they usually ate at, he made his way to the kitchen to grab a few things to make lunch knowing Touya was probably hungry, and he was as well. "Besides, I still plan on beating Yusuke whenever he comes back down for another fight!" Here he grinned playfully once more, clanging a few pots and pans together to get everything situated.

"Then you better train," Touya remarked, grabbing himself water to drink before sitting down to look at the demon news. Seeing the ads involving the human slaves, he couldn't help but turn his nose up at the article mentioning it. "Auctioning off humans," he grumbled between the two of them. "What they are doing is wrong."

Hearing about the humans, Jin turned around to look at the page Touya had tossed to the side. Leaving the ramen he was making to sit, he picked up the article to glance it over to see some of the humans in shackles and nothing but their undergarments to give demons a good idea about what they looked like unclothed as sex sold. "I guess somehow demons caught onto the slave trade we helped bust for Koenma."

"I guess so," Touya mumbled, as he was contently reading while taking a sip of his water here and there. "Who knows what even happened to all those humans. I know the blond one we rescued years ago smelled like she had demon blood. I think they injected her with something."

Gazing at the many images of the female and male humans he couldn't help but feel a bit bad for them. "They look so sad." Jin's blue eyes continued to scan the pages, reading what the trade was all about. "I mean, it doesn't look so bad, I guess. They are taking some humans and giving them better homes."

Touya looked slowly up at Jin, wondering if his partner was serious in what he just said. "Jin, I know you have your moments, but let me explain this simply—," Touya put down his paper he was reading, folding his hands in front of him. "—Those humans are dragged down here from Human World, beaten, and drugged up so they will perform any tricks. Each one is forced to look good for being auctioned or sold. They are not put in any better situation." The ice master picked back up his paper to continue reading, hoping that got through his partner's head.

Jin never held humans in high regard before the Makai Tournament that happened a while ago. It was then he saw the human race as not all bad. "Why don't we just rescue one?"

"Jin, that's not how things work—."

"Just one!" Jin interjected quickly. "Just one? I find humans to be rather entertaining after spending time with Yusuke from time to time." When he saw Touya not budging from the idea, he leaned in a bit with a bit of a cheesy grin. "Please? I have the money!"

Grumbling at Jin's persistent behavior, he looked up at him irritably. "You do realize in doing this all you're doing is aiding the slave trade, right?" Truth be known, he had little desire in having a human around their house.

A sad frown overtook Jin's smile. Slinking down in his seat, he tried his best to put forth his perspective. "But one life saved is a life saved regardless, right? Better to save one then let that one die with the rest."

Touya sighed, relaxing back in his chair. "You're not going to let me win this, are you?" The ice master knew he was going to be defeated regardless. Jin was always eager to have people see it his way. "I will think on it. Maybe having someone for you to watch over will do you some good. You might get back into training."

Jin smiled at the hope Touya would consider it. Removing himself from the table, he made his way back to the kitchen to pull the pot of ramen off of the stove. "At any rate, I have food ready," he said with a chuckle.

"Just glad it isn't burned this time," Touya teased, turning the page of the newspaper to skim over the rest of it.

When night overcame the Demon World, most of the humans in the cages got silence, as they were resting off the abuse they often endured to be 'trained'. Gwenevere watched closely as the lights went off and no more demons were in the area. Looking up and down the hallway just to make sure, Gwenevere moved her slender arm through the crisscrossing wires, which formed her cage to search desperately for the latch that held her cage door shut. The tips of her fingers just gracing the tip of the latch, she moved closer to the cage to try and get a better grip on her means of escaping.

Sliding the latch as she had witnessed it done on other cages, Gwenevere never thought the sound of a creaking door would be so relieving. Pulling her arm back through the fence, she quietly began to sneak out into the open hallway lined with the cages. Hurrying towards the cage Jade was locked within, she grabbed onto the latch to try and open it. The sound of the door about to open woke Jade quickly.

"Gwen!" She hissed in a low whisper. "What are you doing! You're going to get us both in trouble!"

Opening the door all the way, she waved for Jade to follow her. "Come on! I am getting us out of here!" When her friend refused to move, she reached in and grabbed her wrist to pull her from where she was lying. "Just be quiet and move quickly."

"What about everyone else?" Jade asked, stopping midway to the door. She looked out at all the other exhausted slaves that smelled of their own blood. "We can't just leave them here."

"They will be fine!" Gwenevere insisted, pulling on Jade's arm in hopes of making her friend hurry. "What help can we possibly be anyways? If we escape, maybe we can find someone! Now, come on!"

Jade finally moved from where she was standing, hurrying to the door with Gwenevere in the lead. Upon making it to the exiting door, she looked through the small window to check the other side. "Nobody is there that I can see of," she whispered between the two of them, hastily turning the doorknob. With the door opened, she waved Gwenevere through. "Go! Go!"

Going through the doorway, she paused just outside to look down the long corridor filled with a few windows and doors to different rooms. All the lights were off, except for the very last one window on the right. "Someone is in here," she whispered between them. "But that door might be our way of escaping." Taking in a shaky breath, she held onto Jade's hands. "We have to run…as fast as we can."

Nodding, Jade held onto Gwenevere's sweating palms tightly. "I am ready," she whispered breathlessly. "On the count of three, we run. One…two…three!"

Hearing that word, Gwenevere quickly took off down the hall with Jade behind her. Breathing heavily, she felt like the door was getting further and further out of reach regardless how fast she ran. Reaching her hand out when she felt she was getting close enough, the doors behind them opened up to have two demons surface to grab Jade quickly. "Jade!" Gwenevere yelled when she heard Jade scream at being restrained.

"Go! **GO**!" Jade just yelled over Nobu trying to keep her still.

Seeing Yuki heading towards her, Gwenevere panicked as she rushed towards the last door in the hallway. Having the demon grab her just as her hand had touched the doorknob, she struggled and fought against the lizard demon. "Hold still!" The demon growled, trying his best to restrain the hostile human. When Gwenevere and Jade both refused to remain calm, he yelled loudly. "**HARU**!"

The last door, which had a light shining through the window, opened to reveal a normal looking demon with elf ears. His wild, long black hair almost covered his eyes when he gazed over at the situation. He wore a white coat that looked like a doctor's coat, which had his nametag on it. Diving back into his office, he resurfaced with a syringe. "Hold her still!" Haru demanded, grabbing onto Gwenevere's legs to make sure that she didn't kick him. When he managed to get the feisty woman to remain still, he managed to get the needle within her upper left arm.

Gwenevere hated needles. The feel of the prick made her scream like it was torture. "Stop! Stop!" She begged over and over. Suddenly, it felt like exhaustion overtook her. Without any strength to fight back, Gwenevere collapsed within Yuki's arms.

"How did these two get out!" Tokukami yelled angrily down the hall, prompting everyone to turn around to see the owner.

"Sorry, sir," Yuki apologized on everyone's behalf. "We just caught them running down the hallway to the door. We were lucky we caught them before they managed to escape."

"That's enough out of you!" The goblin like demon demanded with a wave of his finger. He made his way over towards Jade to move some of her pink side bangs out of her face to get a better look at her. "Cage them back up," he said, moving his fingers ideally about her strands of hair, as the woman was out cold as well from the same injection. "If these two escape again, let me know. Someone film them too. We don't need them escaping into that Spirit Detective's hands." With a snap of his fingers, he made his way back to his own room.

_For the coming nights, Jade and I still worked on trying to escape. Each time, we almost got closer but to no avail. Eventually, they changed the locks on our cages, so we could no longer release the latch. A padlock was now keeping me from escaping to my friend. To know my best friend was being put through unspeakable tortures like I was made me sick and enraged inside. Whenever they would try to feed me, I was always too angry to accept._

_09/2009_

Tokukami stopped in front of Gwenevere's cage with a disapproving scowl. "This one won't eat?" He knelt down in front of Gwenevere's cage with an annoyed sigh.

"Not one bite," Haru responded. "Her food has been just sitting in her cage rotting." Here he pointed at the padlock. "Open it. I want to take a look at her."

"Just make sure she doesn't try to escape again." Pulling out the key, Tokukami began to work on releasing the lock. "If she does, it is on your head." With the padlock's lock released, he slowly moved the chain to open the door for the doctor.

Haru scoffed a bit at what little Tokukami knew about humans. "She is too weak to escape." Moving the door aside, Haru ducked under the entryway to move slowly towards Gwenevere, who was hunched up into the corner of the cage looking like a mess. "She hasn't eaten anything decent in a week. I doubt she is truly running on anything." When he got close enough, he watched as Gwenevere crawled to the other side of the cage to avoid him. "Come here, you stubborn beast." Grabbing the chain linking to her neck shackle, he tugged on it to get Gwenevere to stop moving from him.

Gwenevere didn't have it within her to fight, as Haru predicted. She threatened to open her mouth to say something, but the fear of being hit prompted her to quickly bite her lip.

Haru looked all over Gwenevere's body to try and find a reason why she would stop eating. His fingers worked away at her stomach to see if there might possibly be anything there that would cause her to stop eating. "There is no excuse that I can see that she would suddenly stop eating. She seems perfectly fine to me." Resting his arm on his thigh, he shook his head to show he was confused. "Why won't you eat, human?"

Even if she was being spoken to, she was hesitant about opening her mouth. Without speaking, Gwenevere looked over at Jade's cage. She was confused as to how these creatures could possibly be doing such a thing to her and those around her.

Tokukami followed Gwenevere's gaze to see her staring at Jade's location. "Hmm, for the past few times they have tried to escape, she always did take that one with her." He nodded over his shoulder at where Jade was located. "Obviously the two know one another."

"Well then, if they knew one another, it would be wise to cage them together." Haru slowly rose to his feet, brushing the straw off of his body. "If you cage people like that apart, they will do whatever it takes to get back with each other. And I doubt you want to lose what investments you put into either one of them." Removing himself from Gwenevere's cage with his belongings, he walked over towards Jade's cage to find her lying over to rest. "I can help you move this one without her trying anything cute." Opening the padlock with Tokukami's key, Haru stepped inside quietly so as not to disturb the resting human. Placing his hand onto the side of her head to keep her settled, he quickly injected her neck with a medicine that made it impossible for her to move much of her muscles.

Jade merely squirmed for a moment only to have it kick in quickly to relax her body. With her unable to find the energy to attack, she was easily picked up from where she was caged and moved.

Haru opened the cage door belonging to Gwenevere to move Jade inside. "If this is what you've been after, here." He placed Jade's body down on the hay in the center of the cage. "You got what you wanted, so I would advise not trying to run away again." With him outside of the cage, he wiped his hands of the human smell he could scent on them. "By the way, with it being so cold, I would advise to bundle that one up." He nodded towards Gwenevere. "She is really chilly from what I could tell, and without much weight on her body, more clothing layers is advised."

Gwenevere watched as Jade was given back to her. Crawling forwards carefully, she pulled the unconscious woman towards her to the back of the cage. When the doctor left her enclosure, she growled within the back of her throat. "You won't keep us here forever," she finally spoke up.

Tokukami stopped in his footsteps with a bit of a scoff at her words. "Good luck, my dear. If you get bought and sold, you'll be saying goodbye to this life, sure, but hello to another one that might be either good or bad for you." Locking her door once more, he made it back out the room with the doctor behind him.

_I was trying to keep Jade feeling assured that everything would be okay though I leaned on her a lot more considering her strength. We saw people come and go that had been trained with us, and some of the masters were none too friendly to begin with just as we were taught to believe. I prayed to myself that Jade and I would find a way out of there together as I promised her every night I would, until __**he**__ came…_

_10/2009_

Jin walked ahead of Touya as the two followed behind the demon that had all the information on each human he ordered to be trafficked down to Makai to be willing slaves for demons who needed one. Touya couldn't help but shake his head at what he saw since he didn't like the fate that befell these humans, though Jin's intentions to have one were as pure as a newborn child—being the child like demon he was.

"Okay," the green skinned and black haired demon remarked, getting out his clipboard. "We have slaves of all ages, size, gender, and origin. So which one do you want dealing with age—ten to fifteen, fifteen to twenty, twenty to thirty and so on. The limit in the age group is fifty. So, which age group?"

Jin looked at each human female and male before snapping back at the man's question. "Umm, it won't matter to me so long as they are not too young or too old."

"Alright then." Pulling the pen from its cap with his teeth, Tokukami marked down the age group he felt would be perfect since the demon was being vague. Taking the cap from his teeth and placing it on the end of the pen he was using, he continued walking down the aisle until stopping in the middle area where the twenty some things where. "If there is one thing I have learned from this type of business, it's that rebellious humans will attempt to escape more than once and or attack and bite. But when it comes to the depressed, abused humans, they may not fight or run much but they will try to kill themselves so I would hide the pointy objects from them. You said you came here looking for one to just be a pet, right?"

"That's right," Jin answered eyeing the many cages about him that had one human in them per cage for some reason.

"Then I would say the depressed ones would be best for you since they will be grateful for your affection from the beatings they used to receive from their parents," Tokukami explained before writing down a bit more on his sheet he had before him. At the mere mention of the beatings, he couldn't help but grin a bit himself seeing as he knew what they did to the humans. He never would indulge that information to the two ninjas he was showing around, as they appeared to be part of the lighter circle of demons.

Touya's eyes continued to wander with Jin's even though he despised this type of illegal dealing, and he couldn't believe Jin was offering to help them thrive in business even if his friend's intentions were anything short of cruel. Looking at the separated slaves, his narrow eyes eventually landed on Jade and Gwenevere who were locked within the same pen unlike those around them. "Why are these two locked up together?" Touya asked, pointing to them.

Hearing the three talking nearby and now discussing the two human's predicament, Jade and Gwenevere both looked up at the towering demons that soon came over to their pen with the ring leader of this human salve business. Gwenevere kept Jade's head within her lap, running her fingers through her coffee colored hair strands before looking up a moment at the demons she feared would chose one of them now.

"These two?" Tokukami questioned, coming over to the pen with the two shoppers. "We put them in the same cage because they know one another, and if we separated them, it causes problems with us. The one lying down is Jade and the one sitting upright is Gwenevere."

Jin looked over at the two and noticed that the one sitting up had many articles of clothing on, making her seem large in size. The one lying down was wearing just a sweatshirt and torn jeans that were dirty from the long haul of the training she possibly endured. "Is the one named Gwenevere fat? She looks somewhat—large."

Looking up from his clipboard for a moment since he was hunting for their information, the green skinned demon shook his head. "No, no. Don't let that look on her fool you. She is wearing three layers of clothing because of the winter season, and it makes her look overweight. Ha—here we are!" He replied, referring to the papers on the two in that cage.

Opening up the cage door a moment, Tokukami grabbed onto their wrists to pull them up so the two demons could look at the two humans. Jade and Gwenevere were roughly pushed out of the cage door to stand side by side a moment before being humiliatingly undressed before the strangers around them by the demons that guarded their cage.

"See?" Tokukami replied showing off Gwenevere's normal frame. "I will read off a bit of their information and see what you like. Okay, this is Gwenevere Johnson. Age is twenty-one and she was born February twenty-second and weighs a 115 pounds. She is 5'5 in height, and comes from South Carolina in the United States. She is right handed, a virgin with a hymen, a 34B in bust, and is also half blind in her right eye so watch out when you come at her from that side. Like a clueless beast, she spooks easily if she doesn't see you coming." To demonstrate it, Tokukami walked over to the woman's right side a moment to try and reach for her from that side, forcing the woman to turn her whole head to watch him and jerk slightly since she couldn't see him from the right side. "She is white as you can see, green eyes, and brown hair. She was abused growing up verbally and physically in her younger years and has gone through depression trips, meaning she stops eating from time to time depending. Her favorite food is Italian and she loves salmon and steaks and anything dealing with chocolate."

_I felt like I was on a twisted dating show of some kind now that I heard all of the information said aloud that they gathered when interrogating us. I kept my head down though not wishing to keep it up, though the demons that watched Jade's and my cage forced it up so that I could be seen from head to toe. They wanted to make sure that we were seen at our 'finest' stature._

_10/2009_

Walking over to the human opposite to Gwen, Tokukami placed his hand upon Jade's shoulder now. "This is Jade Truman from Tennessee in the United States. Age is twenty-three and she was born March fourth and her sexual preference is straight. She stands at 5'7 in height and weighs 125 pounds. Jade is right handed, a virgin with a hymen as well, a 38B in bust, and she also has scars on her front."

Jade was trying to conceal the scars she had on her body, not wishing to show them off until Tokukami ordered the demon close to her to pry her hands off of her figure and to force her to stand upright. She hated those scars and the longest one down the center that ran from just below her breasts down to her stomach area.

"It looks like something tore right into her," Touya remarked, pressing his index finger gently against the scar in the center forcing Jade to flinch from his abnormally cold touch. "Did a demon get to her?"

"No, very bad car accident in 2002," the demon clarified from the papers before him. "She went through anorexia and nearly died from it for three years. She was claimed such in the year 2000. She is a bit better with eating so don't worry about that. But be careful, because she has problems around her stomach area and her flanks give her issues because of her surgeries she suffered. She is white with brown hair and fuchsia strands near her face with sapphire colored eyes. She is a vegetarian so that is saying about what you should feed her though she loves a good bit of fish here and there. Anyways, you can read over all the other detailed info on them both if you want to."

Touya looked to Jin since it was his decision on who to pick. He was obviously going to take one or the other since both fascinated him but he knew, with how expensive they were he could only take one. Grabbing gently onto Gwenevere's chin, he lifted her face up to look into her eyes and even open her mouth to look at her teeth. "What about their periods? When do they bleed?" The wind demon asked, noticing that Gwen's teeth were not perfectly straight but not horribly out of shape.

"Gwenevere bleeds towards the end of the month and quite heavily, and Jade bleeds lightly and sporadically thanks to her anorexia she suffered so, she's unpredictable," Tokukami replied flipping through the papers on his clipboard still. "We're trying to stabilize it best we can with medicine."

When the demon finished eyeing the two over, he stepped back a moment to look at them side by side. "I'll take this one," Jin answered, placing his hand firmly on Gwenevere's shoulder.

_I felt my heart sink—I couldn't leave Jade alone, because I loved her and had been with her for what felt like years. But, now that I look at it, I guess I didn't want to go, because I felt she depended on me as I did her to remain sane and happy. Without her, I was nothing, and I didn't want someone like her to suffer down her in Hell with a master that could possibly kill her._

_10/2009_

The demon closes to Gwen grabbed onto her arm to pull the overwhelmed woman away from her counterpart causing the girl to struggle suddenly, begging not to be chosen. "No," she begged aloud nearing tears. "Don't take me! Don't let me go!" She kicked and struggled against the demon that held her by her arms to keep her from attacking anybody. "No! **JADE**!"

Jin wanted to assure her that it would be okay and that she would have a nice place to stay away from where she was, but didn't have the chance as the startled human was drug further away to the operating room.

"Oookay," Tokukami said, finishing off whatever it was he was writing on. "We are just going to take her in the back and operate on her. Give her a demon's heart so she cannot be identified as human or be taken away from you. While in the process of such, which will take a day or so, you will get her belongings we took from Human World, and you can sort through those as you see fit." Tearing off the paper he had obviously been doodling on for awhile, Tokukami handed it over to Jin along with his clipboard and pen. "Just sign there and we will give you her information and belongings."

Jin took the clipboard and pen before switching his sight over at Jade who was none too happy of watching her friend being torn from her. Creasing his brow in worry at what would become of her without Gwenevere by her side Jin tried to assure himself it would be alright in the end as he put down his name on the dotted line.

Taking back the clipboard and signature on Gwenevere's papers, Tokukami approved it before whispering to a nearby helper demon to get the woman's belongings that they had held in another room. "Alright, she is all yours. You just have to pay 50,000 dollars for her, and we're all set. I am also going to give you a neck shackle for her so you can engrave her name on it and wrist and ankle shackles that are chained together so she cannot run away if she tries. As I said earlier, it's rare for someone like her to attempt to but she may with Jade here and in which case, you might want to chain her down if necessary. It's encouraged with someone like her."

Touya looked up at Jin before rubbing his back to get his partner's attention. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Looking at his friend through his shaggy, wild, red hair, Jin nodded while waiting for the items they would need. "She will have a happy home, so at least that if anything—right?"


	3. Chapter 3

Gwenevere's fingers flinched slightly, as she began to awaken on the operating table. Opening her eyes, she saw a bright light shining in her face paining her waking all the more. "Where…am…I…?" She asked wearily. The light was moved off to the side, giving Gwenevere a better look at the demons operating on her. Both were wearing surgical masks, so it was difficult for her to see anything other than the horns she could clearly witness on both of them. They almost looked like goat horns to Gwen.

"Well, this one is alright," said the demon on the left. It was hard for Gwen to make out most of what was being said seeing as she was so heavily sedated.

"That's the first in awhile." The other removed his mask to show he had almost a beak like face and black skin coloring. "The others usually die right when we switch the heart."

Weakly, she reached for one of the nearby demons to grab their white uniform they had on. "What have you done…?" She almost mumbled.

The demon moved the human's hand disgustedly away from his clothing. "Hurry up with her. That other demon will be here for her shortly."

Further south of the Makai city, the redheaded fox demon moved cautiously through the many demons occupying the streets he walked upon. His hands in his pockets, he kept his eyes focused on his target he had in mind. Many demons in the streets couldn't help but stop to stare at the half-breed. Kurama would often shoot them a nasty glare, making sure they would keep their distance.

Catching up beside him, Yusuke reached out for the redhead. His sunglasses covering his brown eyes and the green and white cap upon his head, he wanted to make sure nobody knew it was him. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" Yusuke asked, turning his sunglasses down slightly to eye Kurama better.

"The demon I spoke to told me this was my best lead. Seeing as you wouldn't stop punching him till he spilled, I have no reason to doubt a creature wishing to spare his life." Kurama couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Yusuke's prior actions.

Yusuke punched his palm with a smirk. "Hey, if he wasn't going to tell me where he got the lady, I was going to make sure he wouldn't be dick wagging anytime soon." Catching some of the former humans spotted here and there amongst Demon World, Yusuke couldn't help but cringe at how they looked like prostitutes. "Hard to believe this all started because of you."

Kurama lowered his head, closing his eyes at having to be reminded of his mistakes. "There are a few sins of the past I must atone for. This is one of the many." Recognizing the atmosphere, the redhead quickly hugged the nearby wall to avoid being seen down the upcoming alleyway. His ivy, green eyes looking down the alley, he could see a demon ushering in a human woman and man into a doorway. "Just stay low and don't do anything until I tell you to, Yusuke." Pulling himself from the wall, Kurama walked casually down the darkness the two side buildings were casting upon the road in front of him. There was a large, double door on the left where the prior three had disappeared. He knocked on the door.

The iron door opened slowly to show the caution of the other demon. His narrow eyes looked up and down Kurama slowly. "What do you want here, half-breed?"

"I've come to talk to the leader of this organization," said Kurama firmly. "I have something I wish to negotiate with him in private."

The demon was quiet. He was eyeing the two strangers and taking in what he could of them in both spirit level and appearances. "I am afraid Nori isn't in today."

Before the door could be shut, Yusuke quickly stopped it with his foot. "Look, you little runt, we don't have all day to jerk around with you! Now, you either let us inside to talk to this guy, or we'll have a whole cavalry here to shut you down before you can blink!" Yusuke threatened.

While Kurama wasn't amused, the threat apparently was beginning to work, as he could smell the fear on the demon. The demon moving aside for them to enter, Kurama stepped within the large building to find another demon waiting there. The inside was almost falling apart. The wallpaper was peeling off completely and some parts of the building almost looked moldy. He noticed a set of stairs not too far from the other demon. Kurama could sense that was where the two humans had been taken.

"So, what do you want?" The hyena looking demon asked from where he was sitting upon a box.

"Are you, Nori?" Kurama asked, his hands going back into his pockets, he triggered a signaling device he had hidden in one of them.

The hyena demon looked over at the other, who let them inside of the building before paying attention to the papers in front of him. "No, he isn't here, but I can help you with whatever it is you want."

"Our business is with Nori, so stop wasting our time!" Yusuke demanded, as he stepped in once more on Kurama's behalf.

Kurama was forgiving the first time, but this time, he wasn't about to let Yusuke go wrecking the place down. "Forgive my friend," the redhead begged, placing his hand on Yusuke's shoulder to calm him. "But please, I would like to see what it is you have to offer." He kept his cool as the hyena demon appeared willing to do such a thing. His ivy green eyes moved over towards Yusuke. "Just be calm, Yusuke, while I go with him," he whispered to the detective. "I am sure you'll know when to attack. Until then, just wait here for me."

Yusuke knew it was never wise to question Kurama. The fox demon was always aware of what to do. Resting against the wall nearby, he kept his brown eyes on the other demon, which was keeping him 'company'.

Following the demon up the stairs, Kurama saw a long hallway full of doors on either side. He could smell the human odor littering the upstairs. The scent of blood was also pungent in the air. "One of my friends happened upon one of your sales on the streets with her master. We asked where he got her, so that is why we are here. I have found myself interested."

"Well then," he began, opening the nearby door, "I think you may like what we just brought in not too long ago."

Inside the door, there was a young woman chained down to a bed by leather straps guarded by two other demons. She had short, layered hair that was obviously dyed purple with light blue streaks. Kurama noted the silver piercing on the left side of her lip and the ones in her ears. He could tell she was sweating profusely and weakly struggling. _She's drugged_, he thought to himself.

The hyena demon motioned Kurama over to the bedside. "Don't worry. No matter what you do to her, she won't feel a thing."

The more he watched the female suffer, the more infuriated the fox demon became. Removing his left hand from his pocket, he placed it upon the hyena looking demon's shoulder. Using his energy to manipulate the demon plants, the thorny vines crept through his long sleeves to puncture the skin of the trafficking demon. The blood of the beast spilling out onto the floor, he collapsed shortly after under Kurama's subtle attack. "And neither will you," he growled coldly.

"Get him!" One of the demon guards demanded to the other, as soon as he saw their companion fall.

The commotion upstairs making its way downstairs, the one demon guarding Yusuke turned his focus up the steps. "What the hell…?" He mumbled, wondering what was going on with the redhead that had come inside.

Knowing that was his moment to step in, Yusuke hurried over to the befuddled demon to bring the side of his hand to his neck to prompt him to the ground. "I guess he couldn't hold it quiet for too long!" He exclaimed to himself, as he ran up the stairs to aid Kurama. Just as he made it to the top stair, he watched as the first door flew open to have one of the demons scurrying quickly away from the attacking fox demon.

Kurama ignored Yusuke there, hurrying after the escaping demon with the spirit detective running beside him. Witnessing the demon escape into the last door on the left, the two followed him there only to find the creature holding a human woman hostage.

"Take one more move, and I won't be afraid to snap her neck," he threatened through his crooked teeth.

Kurama and Yusuke both knew they shouldn't risk the life of an unconscious human. Just as they were about to discuss their options, they saw a flash, and the demon fell forwards with his body cut in half. A relieved smile spread across Kurama's face at the demon hiding in the darkness. "Hiei…!"

Hiei straightened from his finishing attack stance, shaking the blood from his blade. His fiery, red eyes gazed down at the dead beast bleeding all over the floor. "Pathetic, low-class creatures."

Yusuke hurried to the young woman's body to check her over. "She is fine, but she looks like she's drugged like mad." He checked over his shoulder at the two standing behind him. The disappointed frown on Kurama's face caught the spirit detective a bit off guard. "Kurama…?"

Kurama slowly opened his eyes. "She has a demon heart. I can sense it beating in her chest from here." He turned on his heels sorrowfully. "We have no choice but to find her a place to stay here in Demon World to comply with Koenma's rules, or leave her here." Kurama knew that Koenma couldn't allow any humans with demon hearts or abilities to pass over into Human World. It was too much of a risk that the heart would taint the person and make their demonic personalities take over to tear the world apart. The ruler had been trying to keep those with demon hearts in Spirit World, but he found a majority of them would turn evil and start acting like wild animals.

"Fuck that toddler's rules!" Yusuke barked angrily with a shake of his fist. "Not all of those with demon hearts go crazy! Whichever ones have demon hearts, just take them to Spirit World!"

Hiei merely looked up at Kurama, knowing that he trusted the more levelheaded redhead than the crazy spirit detective.

"Take all but one to Spirit World," Kurama advised, as he headed out to the door. He knew the one he wanted to take with him to the hotel room he had booked in Makai. Making it to the last door on the right, he found the punk looking female still resting in the bed. He began to unfasten the leather restraints to set her free. "You'll be okay," he whispered, hoping she could hear him.

Putting the papers on the slave he bought away, Jin opened up the large bag that he was given that contained some of Gwenevere's things. He carefully unzipped the silver zipper on the bag and parted it to pull out the first thing he could that was a bit of her clothing they found and took from her house consisting of a pink spaghetti strap undershirt that was to go under another pink long sleeved shirt which tied in the front. Digging out her assorted jeans and her boots, which looked like Eskimo boots, he stopped digging and throwing things left and right when he came upon a stuffed dog and cat. Pulling them out slowly, he noticed both were very worn looking, and they smelt of the woman's scent very strongly that indicated they had been dealt with recently.

His eyes shifting back over to the papers, which described each item brought, the wind demon noticed they were something she slept with often as a little girl and to that day, still did. Since the brown dog and the white and orange striped color cat looked fragile to him, Jin placed them gently on the bed he was unpacking on for the girl and put them nicely on the pillow that would belong to her.

Turning his attention back to the bag at hand, he pulled out a small plastic bag that had a few items within that seemed awfully fragile; however, two certain items caught his eye that were two necklaces consisting of an awkward cross and a plastic heart that was filled with water and had pieces of gold glittering inside of it. The only thing stated on the papers was that she was found wearing them often, and demons tried to steal the golden heart so it was put away for safekeeping.

Just outside of the house Jin and Touya lived in, the ice master arrived with the slightly groggy girl in his arms. Putting Gwenevere down on her own feet, he let the human with a beating demon's heart look around the area. "As you can see, we are far from the demon city," Touya remarked, getting the girl's attention. "But you should be warned if you try to run away—if you want to be eaten alive, that's the way to do it if you want to meet your death."

Gwen's eyes looked over at Touya's and stayed there for a moment, as she said nothing. She didn't know what to say really. She was still scared and upset about being separated from her best and only good friend, and it tore at her more so than to think about being an 'adopted human'.

Sighing a bit, Touya waved his index and middle finger towards himself, "Come on. Let's get you inside and to bed. It's late and you're still drugged up good from the medication." When he reached out for Gwenevere, the abused woman couldn't help but withdraw slightly and sidestep him to show her fear of demons at the moment. Touya expected it as much, being that he knew what those demons did to those poor humans they obtained and 'trained'. Not to mention what she was probably taught on the surface from other humans. Relaxing his expression best he could, so she wouldn't do anything stupid, he tried to calm her like he would a wild mare. "Shhh, I am not going to hurt you," he said in a quiet, none threatening tone. "I am just going to get you inside and let you sleep until it is time to eat. Does that sound good?"

Gwen didn't answer, watching him best she could through her exhausted expression. Seeing the demon attempting to step closer to her though caused Gwen to jerk her face back and step backwards two steps.

"Whoa, whoa," he whispered as he stopped his advancing so she wouldn't turn and run, though he knew she couldn't get far with the state she was in. "We're not going to hurt you. Jin and I are just going to help you. That was why Jin adopted you. He just wants a pet, not a slave."

Hearing this made Gwenevere stop moving a moment to listen to him. She felt insulted to hear that she was a demon's pet and part of her body language conveyed that. "Pet…?" She asked groggily.

Seeing that he was finally getting somewhere with her, he nodded as he advanced a bit more towards her. "Yes, which means he will more than likely be your slave. Doesn't that sound nice? I am sure it does to someone such as you."

_It did sound nice. It actually sounded like I was just being readopted and relocated to a new place and family. And I had to be truthful when I say I disliked my other family a bit to a certain degree. But I didn't want someone I hardly knew and liked touching me in any sexual manner or treating me like his little child. _

_10/2009_

"Why doesn't he just get a child if he wants a 'pet'?" Gwen asked almost grumpily when Touya finally made it face-to-face with her.

"Because he cannot," Touya put simply, extending his hand once more for her. "Now, come on. We need to get you inside and changed. We have some of your belongings that the human traders brought back with them when they got you. I am sure you will want some of your own stuff to hold onto."

Gwen looked back down at his hand that was before her before finally nodding and taking it.

Releasing a sigh of relief that she didn't try to bolt, Touya guided her through the front door and into the inside that held the living room and kitchen area before the two sides converged to make a hallway that lead to a final door in the very back and two others on the left and right.

_The house looked kind of like a cabin. A quaint, little forest cabin that reminded me a bit of the lake house my family had in South Carolina, but I only went to it once or twice in my lifetime. But regardless of how welcoming it looked, I was still planning my escape secretly—even in my groggy state of mind._

_10/2009_

Jin was still eyeing the two necklaces, admiring them, when Touya knocked on the door that belonged to the room on the right to show him that Gwenevere was there. "She's here," the Ice Master said plainly. "She's groggy on pain medication so be sure that she lies down unless you want her to sleep on the floor." With that said, Touya headed back into the hallway to go elsewhere and leave the two alone.

"Thanks," Jin replied with a brief smile to Touya before looking at Gwenevere, who stood there without much on but a torn up burlap dress that revealed some of the bandages that were placed around her chest thanks to the surgery she endured. "So, uh, Gwenevere—."

"Gwen," she interrupted quietly when she embraced herself from the cold weather.

"Excuse me?" Jin asked, turning his human looking ear towards her. "You're going to have to speak up, lass. My hearing may be a bit good, but it's not that good."

"Gwen," the woman said a bit clearer, pushing some of her russet hair out of her face. "I don't like the name Gwenevere. It makes me sound like—I am from the Medieval Ages."

"Ah, I see now," Jin replied with a nod, looking back at the necklaces he held. "Oh, I read you wore these every waking hour. Do you want them back?"

Gwenevere watched as the wind demon extended his hand and opened up his palm to reveal her Egyptian Ankh and heart shaped necklace with real gold bits in it. Shifting her emerald colored eyes back up at him, she wondered if it was truly okay with her expression before hesitantly reaching for them. Seeing him move his hand slightly caused her to stop and eye the demon once more.

"It's okay," he insisted. "I am not going to hurt you."

Snatching them quickly from his hand the next round, she put them back on best she could since it was difficult for her to mess with them herself. It felt like it took all the energy in the world just to lift her arms with the powerful medicine still in her bloodstream.

Seeing her struggle with the necklaces and the hurt in her eyes at looking right down at the clasps, Jin chuckled briefly to himself as she was nearly going cross-eyed at trying to get them back on. "You want me to help you with that?"

Gwen didn't know what to say to that. At first she wanted to bark at him and tell him to back off, but being so tired and not in the mood to really fight verbally, she gave in. Turning around, she lifted up her hair to show him the dangling clasps of her necklace, hoping he would take that as his cue since she didn't want to speak to him anymore than she had to.

"Okay," Jin's Irish voice remarked, as he headed over to work on snapping the necklaces. "What are these anyways? I have seen a cross before but not one shaped like that and with weird symbols on it."

"The cross is my Egyptian Ankh," Gwen answered, looking slightly over her shoulder. "The heart one is my Heart of Alaska, which has real Alaskan gold in it or something like that—at least that was what I was told…"

"An Egyptian…Ankh?" Jin asked trying to pronounce the word after Egyptian when he finally got the necklace clasp done. "So, it's an Egyptian cross?"

Gwen merely nodded to his response before turning to him when she felt the last necklace put into place.

Jin offered a kind smile to her, in hopes she wouldn't be so irritated towards him. "Yeah, I read why it means a lot to you. You really respected the Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, eh?"

The medication was really starting to get to Gwen, and she couldn't help but rub her right eye sleepily to express how ready for a nap she was.

"Oh, you're tired. That's right," Jin remarked, remembering that she was drugged up. Picking up the bag and relocating it over to his side of the bed where he was going to sleep, he showed her the two stuffed animals of hers that she slept with on occasion on the bed pillow. "You can sleep right here, and if you want to look through your things, they are right over here."

The young woman watched as the demon placed the bag just on the other side of the bed. Spying her two favorite sleeping buddies there on her side made her smile for the first time in awhile before crawling into bed and under the covers to get warm with them. _At least if anything, they brought this down here with me…_

"I am going to make one of those—was it Italian dishes you liked?" Jin wondered, scratching his head.

"Yes," Gwen answered, closing her eyes hoping to sleep now.

"Okay then, one of those then. I will make the shrimp one it says you like a lot," the redheaded wind demon said softly, knowing she must really need the sleep concerning all things that had happened to her. "I will wake you up later. Just sleep now."

Opening one eye to watch him leave her in peace, Gwen couldn't help but roll that one eye and shake her head before closing it and wondering out loud, "Don't tell me that fool can cook."

"I think you're making a mistake, Jin," Touya admitted from where he was resting against the kitchen countertop to watch the wind master cook dinner. "This isn't where she belongs. She belongs in Human World."

"She looks fine," Jin insisted, as he worked on the pasta dish he had read up on. "I think she's relieved of being out of that prison she was in."

Touya looked crossly up at Jin, not able to believe the demon's stubbornness in not wanting to see what was right in front of him. "You weren't the one who brought her home!" He was partially relieved to see Jin finally turn to listen to him. "She was _**scared**_. When I tried to even reach out to touch her, she threatened to run away from me."

"I think if she stays here long enough she will see not all demons are evil." Jin reached for the box of noodles he had nearby to pour them into the boiling water in front of him. "I would think even the human race is taught that there is good and evil in everything."

"If you want her to believe that, you better stay away from your past life in the shinobi sect, Jin," Touya sighed, pushing himself away from the countertop to head over to the living room. "I doubt she would want to hear all about your time killing thousands of demons at one time for money."

When dinner was finished, Jin tossed his apron on the empty space on the countertop before heading back to his bedroom where Gwenevere was resting. Opening the sliding door, Jin stood there within the hallway wondering what to say to the resting woman. "Gwen?" He called to her, slowly entering the bedroom. Reaching the bedside, he touched her shoulder to shake her as gently as possible. "It is time to eat. I am sure you're hungry."

Gwenevere could still feel pain from being moved after that surgery, causing her to moan miserably at just being touched. "Don't…touch me…I am tired now…" Nuzzling against the pillow and hiding under the covers, Gwenevere tried to avoid being handled again.

Touya eventually appeared at the doorway, wondering what was taking so long in rousing the woman. "The doctor said she has to get up and moved a little bit. It is unwise to have her sleep the entire day away. She does need to eat."

"I don't want to hurt her," Jin insisted to the ice master, fearing he may.

"You're not going to hurt her." Touya walked further into the bedroom to pull the covers off of the woman. "Alright, woman, you're getting to your feet." Regardless of how much she moaned in misery of being cold and in pain, he knew it was best for her to be up and on her feet after being drugged so heavily. "Come on, now. On your feet." He let Gwen drape her arm over his shoulder, as he eventually got her to stand up.

The entire standing experience after being laid to rest was torture for Gwenevere. She thought, inside, that it was just another way for her to be tormented by the damned beings that took her in. Hissing through her teeth, she leaned on the two creatures before finding herself being placed into a wooden chair at their dinning room table. Trying to focus her eyes, she looked around the kitchen and living room area to see everything appearing rather hazy for her. Inside her stomach was churning and making her feel nauseous.

Jin noted the way she looked, making him feel nervous. "Is she going to be okay? I know that guy said not many live through that transplant." He ran his fingers through her hair after feeling of her sweaty forehead.

Charging up the cool feeling in the palm of his hand, Touya placed it gently on her face to help bring her temperature down. "Well, I don't see how many do, really. You're taking a human heart that beats 75-80 beats per minute and replacing it with a demon heart that beats almost every two hours or so. Can you imagine getting a fast heart rate like that in your body? Your body would overwork itself and explode. Hers is under working, and her body could very well shut down." He could see nothing horribly wrong with the human woman at that moment, other than her having a difficult time adjusting. "Just get dinner and feed it to her. She might just need food to stabilize."

Moving the bowl of pasta and shrimp over to the center of the table, Jin watched Gwenevere with worry. "Do you think her body will adjust to it? I don't want to witness her die."

"I am not sure, Jin," Touya answered honestly, as he made sure Gwenevere stayed awake and upright in the chair she was in. "I say just make sure she's fed and everything."

Gwenevere could hardly make out what the two were talking about. All she could feel was the pain in her body. Her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head several times in attempts to just pass right out onto the table; however, Touya wouldn't allow it. Her weary eyes grazed the table in front of her to see food and water. Looking further up and across the room, she saw a knife block on the counter. Gathering what strength she could, Gwenevere attempted to pull from the table. "I just need to get up for a second…," she insisted quietly.

Jin helped her out of the chair carefully with Touya's help. "Just take it easy, lassie. You've been through quite the ordeal as of late."

The closer they got her to the knife block, the more courage and energy she felt she could spare. "I'll be fine," she panted, placing her palms on the nearby countertop to catch her breath. When she felt the demons release her, her eyes panned discretely over to the knives for her to take. Biting her chapped, lower lip, Gwenevere grabbed the end of the first one she could reach before spinning around to aim it at the two demons. "Get away from me…!" She demanded, backing up while keeping the end of the knight pointed at the two.

Touya watched her shake violently in fear and rage. He didn't want to hurt the woman, so he raised his hands to show he wasn't going to attack. "Girl…what was her name again?" He whispered to Jin inquisitively.

"Gwenevere," Jin answered quickly, as he made small steps towards the frightened woman.

"Gwenevere, just calm down. We're not going to hurt you," Touya promised. He too was making sure he didn't startle her into doing anything stupid by advancing slowly towards her. "Put the knife down. You're only going to hurt yourself with that thing."

"Get away from me…_**get away from me**_!" She stressed, her back soon hitting the wall. Her empty palm desperately hit against the wall behind her, hoping that wasn't the end of the line. "Don't come any closer!" Her hand began to tremble even worse from how scared she was at having two demons coming her way.

When Jin got close enough, he quickly grabbed Gwen's wrist to make her drop the knife in her hand. "Don't struggle and don't get upset," Jin insisted, pulling her close to his chest. "I need you to relax."

The entire room spinning, Gwenevere found the emotions catching up with her. Not able to stay awake and aware much longer, she passed out within the wind master's arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurama had managed to find himself a hotel room to stay within in Makai. He knew he had to work in both Makai and Spirit World to help Koenma with the trafficking of humans. Hiei always came and went as he pleased, not really listening to anyone, while Yusuke mostly stayed in Spirit World on occasion to try and understand things better from Koenma's point of view and Okuro's, whenever the boy showed his face to raise a complaint. With the young woman he had taken from the slave traders resting in his bed, he had made sure she was carefully hooked up to fluids from a needle.

He was busy writing down a few notes on his desk when he heard the young woman behind him moving several hours later. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as she noticed instantly the needle in her arm, making him scurry to his feet to make her stop from pulling it out. "No, no, no," he whispered, pulling her hand away. "It is just liquids to counteract the drugs."

"What do you want?" The young woman asked fearfully, pulling her hand away from the needle in her skin.

"I wanted to ask where you were before those demons brought you to that building," Kurama said. He, as well as the others, were eager to try and find a link to where the major hub of the trafficking was coming from. They had been given so many clues, but each one led them to nothing.

Turning her head to the side to gaze at the door, she shook her head trying to remember that night clearly. "I don't remember," she answered honestly.

Kurama could tell she was trying, and he couldn't help but smile tenderly at her to show he meant no harm. "What's your name?"

"Fiorella Romano," she answered, wiping the exhaust from her eyes, which were marked up by bruises and mascara. "I come from Italy before they took me away and dragged me here."

"Fiorella," he repeated with a smile, moving some of her hair out of her face. "Just, please, try to remember best you can. In a few days, once you're better, I have to take you to Spirit World." With that said, Kurama moved himself from the bedside to head back over to the desk he was at previously.

The young woman was quiet for a bit, as she fidgeted with the bedcovers. "You never told me your name," Fiorella pointed out. "I should know the name of my rescuer."

"My name is Kurama," he answered, turning around in the chair he sat upon. "Me and my friends rescued you and a few other slaves from whatever miserable future you'd have down here." The redhead hid the fact that he was part of the reason it all began, though it pained Kurama to remind himself of that fact. "It is best you get some sleep. I'll make sure to call for dinner soon enough."

Gwenevere was still passed out within the candlelit room that belonged to the wind master who had adopted her. She could slowly feel herself coming back to reality, when she struggled to open her eyes to the world around her. It was all blurry, but she could recognize that the demons were there hovering over her. Feeling something wet touch her face, Gwen jerked her head slightly away.

"She appears to be okay," spoke Touya, as he moved a bit closer to the human woman. "I guess she just fainted."

She could feel the ice demon's cold hand touching her cheek, causing her to lightly push him away from her. "Don't touch me…" She mumbled wearily.

"We have to touch you, to make sure you're okay," teased Jin lightly, as he held onto her hand. "We were afraid that you died—that your heart stopped beating." He knew that she hadn't eaten yet, causing him to worry a bit. "I know she shouldn't sleep all day, but I cannot get her to eat like this."

"She's too weak to fight with you," Touya assured the wind master. "If you feed her, I doubt she'll resist. She is probably hungry though." His narrow eyes shifted down at Gwen with a roll of his shoulders. "Who knows when the last time she ate was." With that said, he took his leave of the room, feeling the human woman was fine.

Jin released Gwen's hand, which he could tell was anxious to leave his own. "Just stay put. I'll be right back." He could tell she was still heavily sedated, but Jin was still worried she would try to escape in the state she was in. "Just…stay there," he insisted once more before disappearing quickly down the hall.

Gwenevere could hardly find it within herself to move an inch. Every time she attempted, pain shot through her. Moaning miserably, she tried her best to stay awake considering the fear that was pumping through her body. All she knew was that the two were demons and for far too long was she tortured and beaten just to submit to whatever master she was given. _Come on, you fucking body_, Gwenevere grumbled to herself, as she tried to pull herself off of the bed only to have her entire form feel like it was made of lead.

Reentering the room, Jin saw Gwen trying to pull herself off the other side of the bed. He put down the bowl in his hands on the nightstand on the right side of the bed before hurrying over to Gwenevere to stop her. "Whoa, whoa, easy there, lass," Jin whispered, pulling her back gently to get Gwenevere upon her back. "Stop making this hard on yourself." He chortled his words to her, as he wasn't sure why she was so eager to try and escape when he hadn't done anything bad to her.

Her back upon the mattress once more, Gwen felt like she would pass out again any moment. "Why are you doing this…?" She mumbled, watching him through her hazy sight.

"What do you mean?" Jin inquired, as he grabbed the bowel of pasta he had made earlier. "Ever since you came through the door, you've been acting like I am going to lie a hand on you." Using a fork, he carefully tossed the noodles about to get them warmer before putting it on a plate he could feed to the human woman.

"You're ignorant of what they did to us…aren't you?" Gwen asked softly, as she struggled to keep her eyes opened.

"I was told by Touya the just of what they do," sighed Jin. "And one of my friends is actually a human. After fighting with him, I found humans to be more entertaining than anything." Twirling the pasta upon the fork, he showed it to Gwenevere best he could. "Now do you want to eat this or not? You really should."

Gwen was hesitant to open her mouth to the food. She felt as though it could be poison for all she knew. However, it was the first nice, warm meal she had in awhile. Eventually she nodded, opening her mouth to accept the food from the demon. When she swallowed, she looked up at the wind master. "Mmm…and I am still alive," she said quietly. "I am shocked."

"Quite the mouth you have, I see," Jin smirked, as he got another bit of the pasta on the fork to give to her. "I guess I have a reason now to make sure you have something in it."

"You know, sir…master…whatever you are to me," Gwen began before accepting the next bite, "eventually, I will be getting better, and when I do, I will be sure that you pay for that comment."

_Seeing as he was obviously offering his dignity to me, I felt I had every right to walk all over him and threaten him. I wasn't about to let another demon stomp all over my body and then rip out my humanity and shove it back down my throat. I know at the time, it wasn't the best thing to do, but all I knew was he was a demon…and all demons, in my book, were scumbag, sinful, obnoxious, dirty, bastards._

_What was weird about this one was he kept smirking at everything I said to him. I was no fool in knowing he was quite powerful given all demons were compared to human, but something was just off about how he returned my threats._

_10/2009_

"You may keep saying some obnoxious things to me, but I still find your reactions quite relieving," explained Jin, as he finished spoon-feeding her. The bowl and utensils he had within it clanked together, as he cleaned up the spot about the candles he had lit to illuminate the room. "And my name is Jin the Wind Master, by the way."

Gwenevere cocked her brow at his name. "Your last name is…wind master…? What kind of parents did you have?"

"That, my dear, is a title," said Jin nonchalantly, as he headed for the door. "I didn't say it was my last name." He turned around at that moment to wink at her before sliding his bare foot into the partly open door to move it further so. "I will return in a moment."

Gwenevere basked in the silence before hearing the wind master return once more. She couldn't help but place her hand upon her head at having to hear him speak upon him reentering.

"Not many demons have last names, as they are just demons," explained Jin, as he shut the door behind him before making it over to the bed to sit beside Gwenevere. "If you can even find a demon that has one, that will surprise me."

"So where do you get such a title from?" She couldn't help but find herself a bit curious, as the demon wasn't slapping her around for speaking out of turn.

Jin turned his sight from her, as he exhaled heavily at the question given to him. "I don't think you want to hear the reason why I was given a title." He knew that being in the shinobi caused him to get a dark reputation in Makai, and all of the demons viewed him as a celebrity of some sort. Given Gwen's stance on demons, he wasn't about to feed her views any further. Hearing her getting tired, Jin snapped out of his thoughts and paid his attention to her. "You should sleep. You still need to sleep off the drugs."

"I don't feel like sleeping in this house." Gwenevere didn't want to openly admit that she was tired from the anesthetic she had received. Her eyes wandered up to the wooden ceiling, feeling rather nervous about her new surroundings.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," Jin insisted, as he stroked her head tenderly to try and help her do so. "Besides, you have to at one point." At that moment he was about to head back outside of the room into the hallway.

"Where-where are you going?" She wondered with exhaustion from where she was lying under the covers.

Jin stopped at the door with a brief shrug of his shoulders. "Sometimes I will go out and train a little bit or catch the breeze. I am sure one of these days you'll like to do that." He witnessed Gwen look in the opposite direction, causing him to chuckle within his throat. "Goodnight, Gwenevere. Sleep well."

When he shut the sliding door, Gwen rolled her eyes and tried to get comfortable again on the bed. "It is Gwen…_**Gwen**_, you moron," she mumbled to herself. She couldn't deny that the day had left her quite exhausted. Unable to fight her heavy eyelids, Gwen managed to fall asleep that night.

* * *

_I slept contently throughout the night. The drugs, however, had a hand within that. If I were more aware, I wouldn't have dared shut my eyes in that building with two demons walking around me. Eventually, the drugs would go through my body, and I would find my energy again within the light of the next day._

_10/2009_

Moaning softly, Gwen opened her eyes to find Jin's blue gazing back at her and rather closely at that. "AH!" She screamed briefly, nearly slapping him across the face with a swift movement of her right hand. "What's wrong with you! Do you naturally watch people sleep that closely!"

"I was just making sure you were okay!" Jin insisted, as he ducked away from her oncoming hand. "You were crying in your sleep! I thought you were in pain."

Gwen never could remember a time where she was told she cried in her sleep when she was upset or hurt. She was quick to reach up and touch her cheeks to find them dry of anything. "You liar," she hissed, pushing herself away from the redhead. She had only moved a moment to find that her chest was still going to shock her with pain. Biting her lower lip, Gwenevere's face hit the sheet beneath her.

"You shouldn't move so quickly," Jin insisted, as he reached for her. He caught the furious look in her eyes when Gwen managed to turn her head and gaze angrily at him. Jin recoiled his fingers back, knowing she didn't want to be touched by him. "You don't plan on just lying there, do you?" When she didn't answer, Jin tried reaching for her again regardless of her threatening looks. "Come on, you went through surgery not but a day ago. You should really be careful with what you do, and sadly, you're going to need me to help you."

"I don't need your help," she growled through her teeth when Jin did so regardless, assisting her to sit upright on the bed. "I will be fine without you."

"Do you think you can walk into the kitchen and make your own breakfast while your body is in absolute pain?" Jin inquired with a raise of his brow before shaking his head to answer her question. "No, I didn't think so." He pulled away from her with a teasing smile. "I'll be right back. It is wise you stay here. You're to be in bed for four days, so I was told."

Gwen sighed heavily through her nostrils, as she leaned her head against the headboard. Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the agony that had crippled her earlier when Jin left to go make her breakfast.

Elsewhere, out in the woods surrounding the Makai City, Okuro was working on unsheathing his blades and attacking with them. Keeping the blades almost close together, he took a few steps forwards to swing them from side to side. Moving the top blade from the one he had below it, he moved both outwards, parallel to his body, with his knees slightly bent. His black ears moved backwards when he heard something coming through the grass towards him. Quickly he spun around to attack using his duel-blades. A scythe brought up to catch them, the young half-demon showed he wasn't impressed by his father. Okuro moved the scythe with his blades above and over his head, so he could get his swords back.

"So I heard you went to talk to Koenma without my permission," said Kuronue with a disapproving narrow of his eyes. "What is it that you went to him about? I am to assume more talk about the slave trade."

"That's for you to find out," Okuro growled, as he backed away from his father.

"Okuro!" Kuronue snapped, twirling his scythe about to show he wouldn't be troubled to use it if that was what it took to get his son to speak to him. "Don't think for a minute I won't be afraid to shame you." When Okuro got into his defensive stance, Kuronue ran after the young mix-breed with his scythe he had ready. Using his quick reflexes, he tossed the weapon towards Okuro to witness as it just barely missed him when his son rolled out of the way.

Managing to get to his feet, Okuro's ears shot up when he saw Kuronue just above him with his scythe ready to come down upon him. Bringing up one of his swords to block the attack, he struggled to keep his father from winning against him by pushing against his blade against his scythe. His black fox ears pinned back, he growled angrily before using his foot to trip up the bat demon and manage to scramble free. As he was back on his feet again, Okuro spun around ready to attack his father once more only to find him nowhere in sight. "Where'd he go…?" He wondered aloud to himself.

The scythe the bat demon used coming from the left managed to snag the blades Okuro was wielding and pull them from his hands. Holding onto the chain that the weapon was kept on, Kuronue then tossed the chain at his disobedient son to snag his left ankle just as the half-breed was about to run away. Pulling on the chain, he dragged Okuro towards him. "Trying to run away from a battle is a cowardly thing to do unless there is a pure reason to gain from doing so!" He scolded, as he reached down to grab Okuro by the collar of his red Chinese kimono he was wearing to bring him to his feet once more. "Now, care to tell me what you were talking to Koenma about?"

Okuro pushed angrily away from his father, brushing his outfit free of any grass that got on it. "I don't know why the hell you don't bother to help them! I tried to, and you tell Koenma you don't want the reports to come to me anymore!"

"I told you that I have no reason to get involved with the slave trade again," Kuronue growled in his defense, as he put his weapon of choice away. "I freed your mother and that was all I was looking to do back then. The other slaves could have had their fates sealed for all I cared." He bent down to pick up the blades Okuro was wielding earlier against him to show to the young boy. "As for you participating in it, you nearly got yourself killed, because all you are is a little boy running around without a lick of sense in how to defend yourself against an enemy!" Here, he threw the blades at his son to let them land inches from Okuro's feet.

"So you won't finish what you started!" Okuro exclaimed angrily, as he plucked his swords up from the ground to place them back in their sheath upon his back.

"Don't worry about what I did!" Kuronue demanded, as he turned to head back towards the house he owned with Nari. "What you need to do is come inside now. I don't trust you out here by yourself." He felt he could never leave Okuro alone for more than a moment, as the demon was insistent on causing problems.

Angrily, Okuro followed behind his father back to their home in Makai.

_All day I was forced to stay in bed. If I threatened to move, I was reminded of why I couldn't do much. The agonizing remnants of my surgery would pain me with every movement I made. However, I had to admit I found myself extremely bored with a TV that didn't have anything that the Human World had to offer._

_10/2009_

After flipping through the channels on the TV, Gwen found that it being off was more comforting than having it on and having to watch and listen about demons tearing one another limb from limb. Sighing, she turned to the collect of books that the demons had brought down with her. Looking through them, she found some of the Wiccan books she often read to keep herself up to pace on her religion. Thinking back on some of the circles she would cast to keep evil out, Gwenevere couldn't help but feel an idea pop to mind to keep her safe, as she opened the book up to the first few pages to refresh her memory a bit.

When she heard the sliding door open, she peeled her eyes from her book to see that it was the redheaded demon. "I thought you said you had training to do," she mumbled, not wishing he were back so soon.

"Well, I hope it isn't a crime to check on you ever so often when you are bedridden," Jin explained, as he sat down on the bedside closest to her. "Besides, they still said there is a chance the demon heart could fail you should your body not adapt to it well. I don't want that to happen."

"So watching me is going to make sure that doesn't happen?" Gwenevere wondered with a roll of her eyes. "I fail to see the logic in that."

"If you show signs of it, I'd like to be able to get you to a doctor—there is your logic," Jin retaliated. He happened to notice the words on the book she was reading, though they were new to him. Tilting his head to the side, he squinted one eye to try and make sense of the word on it. "What are you reading? Who is this "Wickana person?"

"It is pronounced Wiccan, you dolt!" Gwen exclaimed, marking where she was before shutting the book. "Look, if you want to train, I promise I am fine! Just-just give me awhile to be alone, alright?" She looked away from the demon, not wanting to have the nerve to look him in the eyes when she shooed him away.

"Quite the rough thing you are," said Jin, as he got to his feet once more. "I hope you bear in mind, lassie, that you're stuck here forever. With a demon heart, you cannot go back to the surface. Koenma wouldn't allow it." He hated to sound heartless in return to her, but he was finding himself running on a very short fuse with her attitude lately. Jin sighed out his frustrations, as he headed towards the door. "I am going to be heading into the market with Touya. Is there anything that you needed from there?"

Hearing that they were going to be going to a market, Gwen felt her heart lightly jump from the thought. "There is actually," she began, as she thought back on casting a circle. "Could you get me four candles from there as well as something to light them with like a lighter or something?"

"We have candles and lighters here, my dear. What exactly did you think we lit the candles we have with?" Jin was curious to know her response to that one.

"Oh, I am sorry," Gwen began sarcastically, "I thought you used your fire dragon breath. But, no, what I want is my own lighter. I need it." She didn't want to go hunting for a lighter than the demons may try to hide from her later should they find out what she was up to. "And besides, as far as candles are concerned, I need certain colored ones. I need a red, green, blue, and yellow candles, so I would appreciate it if you'd do that for me."

Jin could tell that her appreciation was mostly said through her teeth and not with her heart in the matter. His hands on his hips, he shook his head down at her with a deep exhale. "Alright, I got it. I'll work on that while you read whatever it was you were reading. Just remember, you're not supposed to lie down a lot, so don't do that while I am gone."

"Thanks," sighed Gwenevere, as she brought back up her book to continue reading about casting the circle, as it had been awhile since she had to do such a thing.

_I had to admit that when he left, I was nervous about how I would go about executing such a thing. Even though it pained me to do so, I had to get up and search the house, because I wasn't sure what all the other rooms of the building were. I knew that when I was allowed into their home, there were four doors in the hallway. The one I was within was apparently the redhead's room, and I had, on occasion, seen the other demon head to the room across from his. It made me curious as to what was in the back of the small hallway._

_10/2009_

Gwen pulled herself slowly down the hallway feeling pain strike her every step of the way. It caused beads of sweat to roll down from her forehead, as she made it to the door on the left of the corridor. Opening it up, she found that the room was empty except for a bed near the far side of the area closest to the window. It looked as though, whatever it was used for, it hadn't been used in some time given some of the cobwebs.

Trying to catch her breath, Gwenevere worked on pulling herself over to the other room. However, her sight began to get hazy and her body weak. Slowly she lowered herself down to her knees with a painful cry at the pain in her chest. Biting her lower lip, Gwenevere found herself collapsing on the floor.

It would be hours later for her to find herself back into the bedroom she had escaped from earlier. "How often are you going to cause trouble?" Touya's voice remarked sternly. When her eyes fell upon him, he shook his head while pulling the damp cloth back from Gwen's forehead. "I thought we made it clear that you're supposed to stay put in bed for four days, or did Jin neglect to mention that?"

"I was just…I was looking at the other rooms," Gwenevere answered honestly. "I didn't expect it to drain so much out of me to do so."

"Next time, how about you ask?" Touya suggested, as he dabbed the cloth back into the bowl of cold water. He rang out the washcloth he was using before bringing it back towards Gwen only to witness her attempting to back away from him. "Do you want to do this yourself?" He asked angrily, wanting her to hold still. "You were found sweating so much you almost had your clothes soaked."

Feeling his hand touch just under her chin, she found herself nearly losing her breath at the chill, which raced through her. "Why are you so cold…!"

"They don't call me an ice master for nothing," said Touya, as he removed his hand from her skin realizing it was really putting a stress on her heart from the drastic change in temperature. "And I would advise that you take it easy on Jin. You're about to give the man a heart attack with your antics."

_Demons don't have emotions_, Gwen reminded herself, as she looked off to the side to avoid Touya's comment. _All they know is the suffering of others._

"Is there a reason you were looking around in those rooms?" Touya asked, as he brought the damp cloth back.

"Yes, I was looking at them and wondering what they were used for," said Gwen, as she folded her hands upon her stomach.

"A long time ago we used to have other friends who lived here," explained the ice demon, as he tossed the washcloth back into the water bowl. "We all trained together for awhile, and then they moved out to be on their own terms. I cannot say it is a big disappointment, as we do see them from time to time. The rooms you saw once belonged to them. Why did you want to know?"

"I wanted to hope I was going to have a room of my own once I am able to stand," said Gwenevere, as she fidgeted a bit.

"I would assume that Jin's bed would be big enough for you both to be okay with." Touya took the water bowl and turned to head for the door. "I don't think you really should bother with another room. Besides, sprucing up those rooms isn't going to be easy or cheap."

"And yet he bought me," mumbled Gwen with an annoyed sigh.

"Talk to Jin about it. He owns you, not me," Touya reminded her, as he exited the room with the items in his hands. He made it down to the kitchen to pour out the water into the sink and put the cloth away for a moment on the kitchen counter. "Well, she's okay," he said, when he looked over at Jin, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room. "You can tell because her 'charming' attitude is still shining through."

"She just assumes we're going to hurt her," Jin said in her defense. "I am sure in time, she'll grow to like it here."

"The reason she was out and about is because she wanted to know what was in the other rooms." Touya rang out the cloth before folded it up to let it dry for a moment. "She explained to me that she wanted to have her own bedroom." He made his way to the living room to sit in the empty chair diagonally from where Jin was. "I don't think she wants to sleep in your room with you forever."

Jin scratched an itch within his wild hair before rolling his back with a heavy sigh. "I thought these humans were taught to get used to demons even if they were abused. You'd think she'd be relieved to have someone who will actually feed her and not raise a hand to her while she's sick."

"Once again, Jin, the humans are taught to _**fear**_ demons. Yes, they might be used to us, but that doesn't mean they want to be." Touya massaged his forehead to try and rid himself of the headache he was getting just trying to handle the girl. "I am sure right now she's not counting her blessings in where she's placed. She could have it much worse, that is for sure."

"I just hope her friend is okay," said Jin, remembering the other female Gwen was caged with. "I didn't mean to pull them away from each other, but I am afraid I could only handle one as well as afford." Catching the time on the clock, Jin removed himself from the sofa to head over towards the kitchen, as he knew it would be time to eat dinner soon enough. "Right now, I am glad I only chose the one if they were both going to gang up on me."

"Just give it time, like you said," Touya suggested, as he picked up a book he was reading. "She'll get used to us, I think."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Notes**_: Oh God, people. XD I have found the joys of novel writing to be so damn addictive. I can write to my own world and have no rules whatsoever. I don't have to worry about taking my characters OOC or anything. If I disappear while doing that, I apologize. It is just so nice to go wild with my imagination and not have someone possibly tell me 'that's wrong; that's wrong; that's wrong—that's not cannon'! It is absolutely great! I should have listened to Kuruk sooner about it!

I do appreciate the comments and everything in the fandom world, but I just needed to go wild with my own thoughts. I'll work on this should the interest spark for a novel break. X3

And the main reason I never made Jin truly Irish in my past stories I claimed he was is because I hate seeing red squiggles all over the page. DX But I guess I'll suck it up and try harder. I'll fix it in later chapters when I am not lazy. Haha

* * *

When Fiorella failed to remember the name of the place or man she came from before being sent to that building Kurama found her at, he sent the young woman to Spirit World. He was worried that the demonic heart would change her personality and cause her to become wild before Fiorella could recall anything. "I know it is in her mind somewhere," Kurama insisted to Koenma when he was back in Spirit World. "I just hope she can remember it in time."

"We are trying our best to stage all of this off," Koenma insisted as he rested his hands behind his back. "I cannot believe a simple transplant would cause such side affects. Some are transforming while others are dying from the slow beating heart."

"I cannot believe that Demon World would go so far," Kurama sighed, as he walked out of the room they were keeping the humans within that had yet to transform.

"Indeed," Koenma said, as he continued down the hall they were within. "But hopefully we will find a way to stop and reverse all of this." His office door coming into view, he made his way inside only to pause at the doorway to find Okuro standing at his desk waiting for the child ruler. "Oh dear…"

"You!" Okuro growled, pointing at Koenma, who was quick to hide behind Kurama. "I want to talk to you!"

"I have nothing else to say about the previous matter!" Koenma insisted, pushing Kurama forwards. "Kurama, talk to your kid!"

It felt a bit odd being told to talk to a son that was older than him. "What exactly is going on here?" Kurama wanted to know, as he was left in the dark as to why Okuro was so intent on getting a hold of Koenma.

"I'll let you both talk about that—outside of my office, that is!" Koenma insisted, guiding them both out with a wave of his hand.

When Okuro refused to budge, Kurama reached over to take him by the wrist to pull him outside of the doors. "Do you mind telling me what is going on here? Where is Nari? Why isn't she with you?" Kurama was still left in the dark as to the real reason why they went to Makai. He was oblivious to the fact that Kuronue was still alive.

"I wanted information on the slave trade in Makai, but Koenma is being too stubborn about it." Okuro turned towards the doors with an annoyed snarl.

Kurama rolled his eyes playfully at Okuro's choice of words. "Didn't you nearly get yourself in trouble last time you tried to help? Besides, if I recall correctly, your mother is in Makai all alone right now." He began to guide Okuro away from the office doors. "If you get hurt, you're going to end up leaving Nari all alone down there. I do believe she's grieved enough, wouldn't you say?"

Okuro huffed, looking off to the side with a flicker of his black foxtail. "She is being watched over by someone." He didn't explain who, even when Kurama gave him an inquisitive look. "Look, I just want to help. I know I can do it."

"Yusuke and I have it under control," Kurama insisted, as he began to walk down the hallway, so he could head back to the human world. "Besides, it is something I should stop seeing as I started it."

"At least _**you**_ feel that way," Okuro stressed, as he kept up with his birth father. "Mother wants to try her best to stop it, but she knows if she walks into the demon city, she will get snatched up and sold off back into the trade."

Hearing such a thing struck a cord at Kurama. He stopped in his steps to point at Okuro's chest. "Don't ever, _**ever**_ let her leave that house you have her in!" The fox demon sighed shakily, thinking back on what Kuronue would have wanted for Nari regarding her safety. "I am already trying to put people I don't know back into their homes. I can only imagine trying to track down Nari."

Okuro rested his ears lazily about his head before perking them back up at seeing Kurama continue on his way to the exit of Spirit World. "It is weird actually seeing you care when I remember how you were back then."

Kurama stopped in his tracks hearing Okuro's words to him. Looking over his shoulder at the half-breed, he let out a painful chuckle. "I have changed in many ways since then, and I am still trying to make up for the things I have done." With that said, Kurama continued out the doors to head on back home to his own mother.

**(XX)**

Jin admired the full moon that night through the kitchen window, as he was finishing up the katsudon dish he was working on for Gwenevere to try. Grabbing two sets of chopsticks, he made his way to his bedroom he had the feisty woman within. He opened the door to peek inside to find her lying in the bed still awake. "Knock, knock," Jin chuckled, as he made his way to the bedside, placing the dish on the nightstand. "How are ya feelin'?"

"Hungry and miserable," Gwen mumbled, as she closed her eyes wishing the pain in her chest and body would go away. "What is that?" She couldn't see within the bowl until Jin was kind enough to tilt it a bit so she could do so.

"It is a Japanese dish called katsudon," Jin explained, as he gave her a set of chopsticks she could work with. "It is made with tonkatsu, egg, and onions on top of rice. I thought ya might like to at least try somethin' new aside from what ya usually eat."

"One problem," Gwenevere pointed out, as she showed off the foreign utensils to the wind master. "I don't know how to use these at all."

"Goodness, lass," Jin chortled, as he used them with ease right in front of her to pick up a few pieces of the pork and rice to feed to her. "Ya should probably learn to use these, because it is the main thing that's used 'round here. So what do ya think of it, eh?"

Gwenevere swallowed the foreign food slowly to get a taste for it. She hated to openly admit that the food was actually decent when she was usually a picky eater and was looking to try and annoy the wind master. "It is good, I suppose," Gwen reluctantly answered, accepting another bite, as she was admittedly, hungry. As she was eating, she was reminded of what she had planned to do earlier. "Did you get the candles I asked for?"

"Aye, I did," answered Jin. He handed the bowl over to Gwenevere when she looked as though she would be able to handle it. "I'll be right back." Leaving the room for a moment, he came back with the bag filled with the items she had asked him for. "'Ere ya go, lass. It should all be there. What do ya be needin' it for?"

"It is nothing important," Gwen insisted, as she took the bag and placed it beside her. She couldn't help but daydream about casting the circle in a space to see if she could keep the demon away from her. Her train of thought was broken, however, when Jin prompted another bite in front of her mouth. "So what do you plan on doing with me once I am better?" She couldn't deny a sense of dread that everything going on currently was just a setup to brainwash her.

"What kinda question is that, lass?" Jin asked with a chuckle, as he stole a bite from the food he prepared as well. "I bought ya to try and save ya from that place you were trapped within." He poked her gently on the nose with one of the chopsticks. "Just 'cause we're demons doesn't mean all of us are evil."

"I don't believe that," Gwenevere grumbled, as she moved Jin's hand away from her. "I believe that once I am better, you're just going to do whatever it is you want with me." She glared at him to show she wouldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth.

"Esh, they musta done a number on ya when ya were in that jail," Jin commented, as he offered her another bite only to witness her being resistant. His blue eyes wandered about the room with a slightly irritated sigh at her stubbornness. "Did ya want to talk 'bout it?"

"No, I don't!" Gwen snapped, not wishing to remember what all happened back at the slave market. She turned her head, wishing to avoid eye contact with the demon. Gwen thought if she showed an ounce of vulnerability, he would walk all over her, and she wasn't about to let that happen anytime soon.

Jin was a bit taken back by her snapping, but he dismissed it easily with a slight smile. "Well, if ya ever want to, just let me know, aye?" He picked up the small meal he had fixed for Gwen to remove it from her hands. "Did ya not want anymore?"

Gwen kept her gaze averted from him, as she released the cup in her hands. She shook her head at his question. "No, go ahead and take it."

"Are ya sure? I mean, ya can keep it if ya want," Jin insisted, wishing she'd at least finish a meal instead of either passing out over it or pushing it away after a few bites or so.

"**NO**! I am fine, dammit!" Gwenevere exploded, closing her eyes tightly in poor attempts to lock her tears where they were only to fail.

Jin could tell her voice was cracking, and he felt bad for her, but there was only so much he could do for someone pushing him away. "Alright then, I'll just be puttin' this away." He made it to the sliding bedroom door to look back over at Gwenevere with a twist of his mouth. "Ya know, you're gonna be stuck 'ere for a long while. Ya might as well be gettin' use to it."

Biting her lip when Jin left, she situated herself under the covers to allow the tears to flow while the demon wasn't there to witness it. She was quick to try and fix herself up while he was gone, knowing he would return to go to sleep next to her.

_The next four days would pass slow enough for my taste, but I managed through them. They removed the bandages about my chest slowly to show a star shaped scar upon my chest where my heart was located. I remember placing my fingers upon the scar that was there to remind me of the horrific surgery I underwent._

_11/2009_

"Come on," said Touya, as he placed his hand upon Gwenevere's back. "We have to get you back on your feet, regardless of how scrawny you are."

Gwenevere glared at the ice master for his remarks. She took his hands to help herself stand on her own feet slowly. "So I can finally walk around and not be forced to stay here in bed all day? That's a relief."

"I'd advise you not to walk out of the house without someone with you," Touya added, as he made it out into the hallway.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Gwen insisted, as she hurried after the ice demon. "Where is Jin right now? I haven't seen him since I woke up this morning." Since she was feeling better, she wanted to ask about having her own bedroom.

"He's outside training," Touya answered, thumbing towards the front door as he went to go grab a book to read that early afternoon. Getting comfortable in the chair, he picked up the one book he was reading earlier. He noticed Gwen heading for the front door, prompting him to shake his head. "What did I just tell you?" Touya didn't break his concentration from the written word in front of him. "There are demons out there that could very well smell you a mile away and try to kill you."

Gwen rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh. "I need to talk to Jin about something. I want my own room, dammit!"

Touya rolled his eyes, as he put down his book for a moment to look over at the impatient human. "Jin has already fixed you up a room while you were bedridden for so long. He only knew so much about what you liked, so he decorated it the only way he knew how." When he saw Gwenevere looking at him awkwardly, he nodded down the hallway. "It is the last room on the left."

Hurrying down the hall at a steady pace, knowing she couldn't over exert herself, she made it to the room Touya spoke of to open the door to look inside. There was indeed nothing that really screamed her in terms of taste that Gwen could see, as she walked into the bedroom. The bed was covered in blue and white colored sheets with the nightstand right beside it. Gwenevere got close to the nightstand to find that all there were upon it was a clock and a few candles. There was also a closet behind her, a dresser to the left of her with a rather wide mirror, and a computer desk that was void of any computer. When she touched her hands upon the empty space, she heard the door open.

"There isn't much 'ere yet, but I am sure ya can make it into somethin' of your own," said Jin from the doorway. He was wearing a white judogi from the looks of it. It was held in place by a blue sash. "I don't have a computer in 'ere yet, but I figure ya might make do, lass."

"I am surprised you even get electricity seeing as you don't have many lamps," pointed out Gwenevere. She could see the demon coming towards her from the corner of her eye.

Jin threw his head back and laughed. "We do have electricity, Gwen. How else would our other things work without it? I don't imagine our tele would work either." He had in his hands the bag filled with her candles and things she desired, and he placed it upon the dresser. "We just prefer the alternative light source."

Gwenevere didn't know what to say about the room he obviously spent more money on just to get put together. She tapped her fingertips against the wooden surface of the computer desk. "Well…umm…thanks, I guess."

The demon's ears wiggled slightly at the sound of something nice from her for a change. He grinned for a moment before nodding his head at her comment. "A dry thanks it be, but I'll accept it," he said honestly.

"Oh, just get out of here, so I can be alone for awhile!" She demanded, pointing towards the exit of the room.

Jin chuckled softly to himself. "If ya desire it so. Dinner will be ready soon, so I hope you're prepared for it." With that said, he excused himself from the bedroom, so he could help Touya with food preparations.

_I watched as he left the room completely. It was then I knew I had to quickly get to work. With how much time I had left, I had to get everything situated on the ground to make sure he couldn't cross into my special area. Regardless of the nice things he had done, I found my paranoia around him growing by the day with me being well enough to move._

_11/2009_

Gwenevere situated the candles in the appropriate locations in the wide empty space near her bed. Her hands worked diligently with the pentagram design on the wooden boards. Grabbing her book of shadows she often worked within, she turned to the spell used to keep evil out of her space. Her eyes trailing over her own writing, she steadily got to her feet to call the corners first.

In the kitchen, Touya looked down the hallway with a shrug of his shoulders while turning his attention back to the lettuce he was washing in the sink. "She's been in her new room for awhile. I guess she likes it?"

"She thanked me for the most part," Jin explained, as he was pealing the potatoes in his hands carefully with the knife he held. "I am sure she'll be gettin' better in time."

"I guess she has some manners," Touya noted, as he pulled apart the leafy lettuce in his hands. "You should look into getting her out of this house more often. I am sure if she sits around here long enough, she'll get her depression kicking in again."

"How do ya be knowin' 'bout human medical conditions?" Jin wondered with a raise of his brow and a sideways smirk.

"It is called reading," Touya remarked straightforwardly, as he snuck a mushroom from the bowl nearby him to have something to nibble upon. "It is an interesting little thing where you take something called a book and you intake the knowledge within it."

"I can be doin' without the sarcasm, lad," Jin admitted with a playful nudge to his partner. "I guess I could drag 'er out 'ere to help with dinner. She used to help 'er ma back in the Human World, so it may help 'er a wee bit." Finishing with the potatoes, he put them in the oven to bake a bit before heading towards Gwen's room to do so. His knuckles rapped upon the wooden door. "Gwenevere, can I come in?"

"If you want," she breathlessly called from the other side of the door.

"Ya sound exhausted, lassie," Jin commented, a bit worried, as he opened the door. "What have ya been…?" He paused in his words when he saw the pentagram circle there clearly on the floor. Jin wasn't familiar with what it was, but he knew what it did. He could feel the positive energy flowing from it, and it was difficult for him to keep at bay. "What-what is that…?" He asked, not liking the feel from it.

"It is a pentagram," Gwenevere answered from where she was kneeling in the center of it. She stared the demon down, watching a bit gleefully as Jin wasn't able to really step into the room at the mere sight of it. "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

"This isn't funny, Gwenevere," Jin admitted sternly, for once. "Why don't ya come out of that and come 'ere?" He waved for her over towards the doorway.

"Come and pull me out then!" Gwen demanded, as she stood to her feet. She knew that no demon could come through the pentagram lining unless they were powerful enough to do so.

Jin took in a deep breath before entering inside of the dimly lit room to make it a few feet from the outer circle of the design Gwenevere had crafted upon the floor that was soaked in holy magic. He hesitantly reached towards Gwen only to feel a powerful strike to his body, causing Jin to withdraw his hand quickly. "Gwen, stop this!" He growled, showing he wasn't enjoying this little game she was getting at. "If ya get sick, I cannot get to ya!"

"I don't trust you!" Gwenevere insisted angrily, as she pointed her summoning dagger at him as if to threaten to cut Jin should he come too close to her. "I know what's on your mind…it is on every demon's mind, I am sure. You're no better than preying males in the Human World!"

"What are ya talkin' 'bout, Gwen!" Jin exclaimed curiously, as he couldn't understand the hysterical human woman at all. When the words registered a bit, he pulled his head back with a brief raise of his brows. His mouth was slightly open in shock at what she was getting at. "Are ya suggestin' I would rape ya…?"

"Don't act like that isn't true!" Gwen snapped angrily. "When I was in that hellish prison, I was told what others went through. They were beaten and raped by their masters once they were able to walk again…I know you're no different!"

Jin was shocked she would consider such a thing. He wasn't aware he ever gave her any indication that he would consider such a thing to her. "What do I 'ave to do to prove to ya I am not like that?"

Gwenevere wanted to remain against the demon, but when he spoke those words, she could see a sort of pain in his blue eyes. Her aggressive stance against the demon starting to slowly falter, she closed her eyes to try and avoid his painful gaze. "What did you want…?" She asked, lowering her summoning dagger to her side.

"I just wanted to ask if ya wanted to help with dinner," Jin explained with a disappointed sigh. "If ya care to do so, I will be in the kitchen with Touya. You're free to help." He couldn't find it within himself to explain much more than that, as he backed up to the door. The energy within the room was irritating him, so he parted from the bedroom to head back to where he once was.

Touya heard Jin surface from the hallway, as he was continuing with making the main salad dish they had in mind for that night. "So I heard yelling. What is going on?" He asked, keeping his focus on the task at hand.

"Strange one, she is," Jin insisted, as he made his way back to Touya. "She has it in 'er head that I am gonna rape 'er." When he felt the potatoes were ready to be pulled out of the oven, Jin did so as Touya continued dressing the salads. "She has a holy thing put up in 'er room now, so I cannot be gettin' too close. It hurts when I do so."

"Wonder what her religion is," Touya remarked, as he finished the pasta salads. "Didn't you say it was Wic-Wiccy-Wiccana or something? It is something I haven't heard of before."

"Somethin' like that," Jin sighed, scratching an annoying itch within his red hair. "Ya can ask 'er if need be." When he heard a door opening further down the hall, he turned his head with Touya to gaze over at the entrance of the hallway. He wasn't sure what to say right away when he saw Gwenevere standing there. His eyes caught Touya's before offering a smile to Gwen. "Did ya need somethin', lass?"

Gwenevere rubbed her upper arm with a sigh through her nostrils. "No, I just wanted to come and see what you needed help with."

Touya looked back up at Jin with a raise of his brow. Obviously something he said prior was breaking through the girl's defenses.

"Well, umm," stumbled Jin, as he wasn't sure what to make of this sudden turn around. "Everythin's almost done for the most part. However, me dear, ya can help me with puttin' a few things on the spuds if need be."

Gwenevere nodded, as she hesitantly made her way over towards the demons. She could feel her demonic heart picking up pace a bit and tensing under the thought of getting too close to them willfully. Her hands touching upon the counter, she looked over at the potatoes that Jin had cut down the middle to open them up.

"We're not gonna bite ya," Jin insisted with a lighthearted chuckle at her nervous behavior. He handed her a bowl full of bits of cheese as well as another with chives. "I'll put butter and cream cheese on the table." Taking those bowls over to the table, he placed them down about the pepper and saltshakers.

Touya looked over at Gwenevere out of the corner of his eye, figuring he better watch any movements he made so as not to spook her. "So what do you want on your pasta salad?" The ice master asked, not sure what it was she enjoyed. Only Jin seemed to have that down to a science after reading her papers.

"Cheese, carrots, and mushrooms will do fine for me," Gwenevere answered, as she finished the task Jin asked of her. Picking up the tray that had the potatoes on it, she brought it over to the dinning room table as well.

"Alright, looks like everything is fixed," said Touya, as he finished up the salads to follow behind the young woman. He handed out the pasta salads appropriately before finding himself a seat at the table.

"I guess this is all we're eating tonight, eh?" Gwen asked with a twist of her mouth to the side. She was expecting something a bit bigger.

"Ya need somethin' easy on your stomach," Jin explained, as he took his seat as well. "This should be doin' it for now. And I bought ya a fork ya can be usin' until chopsticks can work better for ya, Gwen." He pointed to it upon the table. "Just use that for now."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to those things," Gwen insisted, as she watched the two demons use them with ease.

"I can teach ya," Jin chuckled, as he continued to eat his salad. "So who was that Jade lass you 'ere friends with?"

Being reminded of Jade made Gwen's heart sink, having to remember the best friend she considered a sister at times. "She was my best friend," Gwen answered with her mouth slightly full. She swallowed her food before she continued. "We met one another online, and we stayed in contact over our phones when we're able. She's like a sister to me."

"They said you two gave them hell by trying to escape so much," Touya pointed out, as he continued eating as well. "You didn't continue to try when you were placed with one another?"

Gwenevere shrugged at Touya's question. "I guess when we were together again, I didn't bother with trying to anymore." She began to pick at her potato to try and make sure the heat would come out of it a bit so it wouldn't burn her mouth. " Besides, each time they would catch us right before we would make it to the door. It was like they waited until that moment to drag us back inside."

"They were playing with you," said Touya from across Gwen. "Demons are known to enjoy teasing humans till they break or die." He grumbled his frustrations at what the human traffickers were doing. "The demons you encountered back there disgust me."

Hearing Touya say that matter-of-factly, Gwenevere looked at him with confusion. "I thought all your kind was like that, though. You think humans are below you, and they are just good for mindless tasks."

Touya looked over at Gwen with his cold, sky-blue eyes. "Do you want my honest opinion on it?" He asked, pointing his chopsticks at himself. The ice master witnessed Gwen nod. "I think people who use dark means to get what they want are cowards. Them capturing and beating humans just to turn a profit—there is no honor in that. They're just spineless cowards trying to roll in blood money."

"Demons confuse me," Gwen sighed, resting her cheek upon her knuckles to mess with her food before spooning it to herself.

"Not all are evil," Jin chuckled lightly, as he finished his potato. "Even some can turn 'round given enough time." He looked over at Gwen with a smirk. "I just hope ya can turn 'round to me too."

_I wasn't sure what to say about his comment. Even though I knew not to believe in evil given my Wiccan rules, it was hard to not see it in everything and everyone. I knew I had to get used to where I was, but it was still hard to accept that where I was, was going to be my permanent home._

_11/2009_

After dinner, Gwenevere knew that her room didn't have a bathroom to use, making her curious how the others there ever managed sneaking into Touya's and Jin's bedrooms. Seeing as she knew Jin better, she knocked upon his door. "Jin, can I come in?"

"Come in," his Irish voice beckoned from the other side.

Allowing herself inside, she found the demon lying lazily upon his bed while the TV was running. "I was afraid that I noticed you and Touya are the only ones with a bathroom. I was hoping I could use yours to clean up for the night."

"Umm, sure," Jin said, pointing to the bathroom door he knew she could probably see from the doorway. "By the way, it was advised that I help ya with bathin' ya until you're one hundred percent back to normal."

Gwenevere looked Jin up and down, hoping he was going to laugh at such a joke. "You're not serious, right?" She watched as the wind master removed himself from his bed to get to his feet. "Jin, I am fine! I can wash myself, I am sure. If I can walk, I can surely do that."

"Don't be givin' me that!" Jin scolded playfully, as he ushered her to the bathroom door. "I bought ya, so I plan on givin' ya the best care."

Her feet meeting with the cold tile flooring, Gwenevere felt herself about to faint over the mere thought of him seeing her naked. "You-you're not going to wash with me, are you?" She asked timidly, watching him head over to the shower.

"Neh, lass," Jin insisted, as he turned on the water and plugged up the drain, so she could just have a bath. "I can tell ya don't want me to be seein' whatcha got underneath your clothes, so I'll spare ya from havin' to see me."

A bright blush painted across Gwen's face, she felt her anger coming through. "So basically you're going to be a perve and just peek at me!" She yelled angrily, unable to believe the wind master had no boundaries.

Jin looked up at her with a shake of his head. "In me eyes, you're still me pet," the wind master pointed out, as he felt the water would be cool enough for anybody. He shook his hand free of the water, as he got off his knees to help Gwenevere undress. "Don't worry, I am not gonna judge ya."

"Oh God, just turn around, so I can undress at least undress myself!" Gwenevere demanded, her blush remaining on her face. "I want to at least get into the water, so what you do see will be distorted!"

"Aye, aye," Jin sighed, unable to believe her behavior in the matter. He stood near the door with his back turned, allowing her to do as she pleased.

Gwenevere kept her eyes on the wind master, as she began to undress quickly. She didn't trust the demon any further than she could throw him. With her clothes removed, she hurried into the bath water even if it was a bit warmer than she expected. "Goodness, what are you trying to do, boil me alive in this!" She exclaimed, flinching from the feel.

"Sorry," Jin apologized, as he turned around. "Demon skin can be a wee bit thicker than humans, so it takes me a moment to feel hot or cold compared to ya." Kneeling back beside the tub, he began to scoop up some of the water to splash upon her head to get her wet enough. As he continued to help her get wet, he could make note of the blush painted across her face rather easily. "Heh, I am not gonna judge ya, lass. Ya should knew me better by now."

"I have never been seen naked by a guy before is all," Gwenevere admitted, as she kept her arms across her chest, knowing that if she removed them, she would be exposed.

"Really now?" Jin said with a tilt of his head. "And you are 23? I am surprised. Usually humans don't live long, so they normally have their fun times early, aye?"

Gwen's eye twitched at such a comment by the wind master. "Thanks, but I don't need to be reminded that it is impossible for me to find someone to get laid with."

Jin's body shook with spasms of his laughter, which consumed him momentarily. "Why do such a thing anyways, Gwen? Why not find someone ya truly love and have your moment with them, aye?"

She never knew of a demon wanting to speak about lovemaking. Gwen thought all they knew to do was rape others. She had to admit it was different, and a rather interesting topic. "Have you ever had a special moment with someone?"

"I didn't have time for love when I was trainin' in the past," Jin admitted with a shrug, as if to admit the thought wasn't a big deal to him. He grabbed the shampoo he had to pour it upon Gwen's brown hair. Making sure none of it got into her eyes, he began to massage her head gently to help it into her scalp. "I was in the dark for a long time, me dear. While I was in it, I grew a wee bit of a reputation."

"And you're…how old?" Gwenevere wondered, as she kept her eyes closed to avoid the shampoo even if Jin was being cautious with where the suds wandered.

"Bein' a demon, ya tend to lose track of time," Jin admitted with a brief chortle in his throat. "I am somewhere over a thousand years old."

Gwenevere's jaw dropped, as she released her hands from where they were about her chest. "A thousand years old, and you haven't once done anything with anybody?" She asked, a bit shocked by his age. Gwenevere witnessed as Jin shook his head with a hum at her question. "God, you must be the oldest virgin I've ever known!"

Taking his middle finger, Jin flicked her gently behind the right ear.

"Ouch! Jeez, you don't have to do that!" Gwen grumbled, rubbing the spot he touched. "Whatever happened to you being gentle to someone who is 'healing'?"

He raised his index finger with a playful wink to her. "I am only gentle to those who don't make fun of me," he joked. "Now, hold still! Ya wiggle worse than anythin' I've tried to spar!"

_While it was embarrassing to have him bathe me like a common house pet, I found he was being genuine about his words to me. He wasn't going to hurt me, and he was possibly going to watch over me best he could._

_But the stories and the beatings back at that prison…I couldn't forget them, and it was making my friendship with him rather difficult._

_11/2009_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Notes**_: Haha, sorry about the massive delay there, folks. I was really into my novel writing that I have 67 pages so far, single-spaced. Whenever I manage to get it finished and pushed out into print, I will be sure to let people know. =) I find it to be insanely liberating to write to my own world. Also I am working two jobs now with massive luck if I have more than one day off, so it is interesting at the moment!

I was struggling to come back to this one. XD; I am not sure if I'll hiatus this—I may or may not. Depends on how I am feeling.

* * *

Okuro watched the night sky from the balcony within the building his father and mother had taken over. He rested upon the railing with his knees to his chest and his black, bushy fox tail flicking back and forth as his mind wandered. Hearing someone coming up behind him, his black ears shifted behind him before he bothered to look over his shoulder to catch who was coming towards him. Seeing that it was Kuronue, he didn't know what to really say considering the words spared before between them.

"I figured you might be out here," Kuronue said, as he placed his forearms upon the railing to relax against the cool iron. "Whenever you were plotting something or pouting, you always retreated here."

"I am not pouting," Okuro grumbled, flattening his ears against his head monetarily. "I was just thinking about all of the human slaves out there in the Demon City."

"You really just need to let this go—both of you do!" Kuronue insisted angrily through his teeth. "I didn't intend for your mother to come back down to Makai only to be so upset over this slave trade business."

Okuro turned to his father with an irritable look on his face. "You chose to start something with Kurama, and yet, he is the only one with the heart to stop it!" He shook his head in disgusted disbelief. "I never thought the once feared and hated Youko Kurama would be the one to do such a thing…!"

"Do you not think I want to stop this!" Kuronue exclaimed between them, pounding his fists against the railing, nearly breaking the iron. "Every day I have to go into the Demon City and see the unclothed humans being dragged around by collars like they're some house pet or luxury! Do you not think I want to put an end to it!" His voice was quiet so as not to wake Nari, but anger clung to every word. "The only reason I don't do such a thing is because I know there are deceitful bastards who would follow me home and kill Nari and possibly you!" Kuronue pulled himself from the balcony railing with a shake of disapproval at Okuro's assumptions of him being selfish. "Kurama can easily avoid most of this because he can head back to Human World under the alias of Shuichi, but I cannot do that!"

The mix-breed wasn't sure what to say now involving his father's outburst. Okuro was beginning to feel awful for ever assuming Kuronue was just being a selfish bastard, as Kuronue got what he wanted in Okuro's eyes. "I know what you're trying to say, dad, but I know mom won't rest peacefully here until this comes to a halt."

Kuronue sighed, looking off at nothing in particular. He knew there would be no way to make his son understand what he was trying to get across. He didn't want to lose either one of them, but his son was stubborn. "Fine," he growled. "If you want to do this so badly, then I want you to go to Kurama and stay beside him, and I want you to do everything that he tells you!"

"But—!"

"No buts!" Kuronue knew that Okuro still had a fowl taste in his mouth for everything Kurama did in the past to his mother, but he wasn't about to let his son run wild in the Demon City to chase after slave drivers. "If you want to do this, then you'll do as I say, or I won't be afraid of beating you into the ground to remind you how weak you are." Kuronue would often school Okuro in spars just to remind the rebellious youth where he stood. He promised the mix-breed if he ever beat Kuronue in a duel that he would allow Okuro to do as he pleased. "Tomorrow morning go up to Spirit World and talk to Koenma about it as well. I am sure he'll have assignments for you to do."

Okuro knew this was going to be his best opportunity to help with the fight against the slave trade. When Kuronue left, however, he didn't mind covering his face with his hands and grumbling against his palms.

* * *

_Even if the time in Makai was different from that in Human World, I could tell that December was coming rapidly. It was getting colder, and I could spy snow flurries outside of my window from time to time._

_Sadness overtook me, however, at remembering the Christmas holiday that comes with the month. I didn't know if demons celebrated such a thing, and I wasn't too intent on asking the 'master' I currently lived with._

_12/2009_

Gwenevere sat upon the bed in her own bedroom to watch the frost settle upon the earth with an occasionally flurries here and there. She always had a love for the snow, but down in the south it rarely ever snowed. It was a thought and hope that it would snow rather heavily in Makai. Her fixation on the thought was broken when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she spoke quietly. Gwenevere was gradually getting used to being around the demons, but her paranoia in their actions was still there.

Jin opened the door to the room, still keeping his distance as that pentagram was still in place about a majority of the floor. "Hey, lass, I was curious if ya be wantin' to come to the market with me."

She felt that was a rather dumb question. Gwenevere was still not completely trustful of the demons she was with, and now this airhead wanted her to walk into the demon pit with him. "I think I'll pass, but thanks."

Her thanks was cold, per usual. Jin was getting used to it nonetheless. "Aye, alright then." Jin was about to leave the doorway but stopped himself, as he apparently had something else on his mind. "So when do ya plan on movin' back into me room?" He didn't mind the shocked and disgusted look on her face, but Jin preferred her to be nearby with the surgery and all. "I am sorry, lass, but I just worry for ya is all."

"I am sure I can take care of myself," Gwenevere retaliated, turning her attention back to the window.

"Well, how 'bout you read for a bit till I be gettin' home?" Jin was trying his best to keep Gwenevere's mind occupied, so she wouldn't think so much on the other things that were depressing her. The last thing he wanted to do was lose her. His intent was to save her—not rescue her and have Gwenevere die a month or so later. "I am sure the books will keep ya interested for the time bein'." He pointed over to the stack, which he had bought knowing her likes in literature.

Reading was a favorite pastime for Gwenevere, but she just didn't feel like picking up a book at that moment. She waited for Jin to leave her be before getting to her feet slowly to head over to the vanity where she had her books stacked. She shuffled through them to find her interest still not sparking. Not sure where the other demon was, Gwenevere opened her door once she heard Jin close the front door to make her way out into the hallway.

The house was rather quiet. Every time it was so, Gwenevere felt the temptation to just run for help, but she was already well aware there was no place to run. Her arms wrapped around her body, she made it to the kitchen and living room area to just stare at the front door. Her legs were almost telling her to go as well as her mind, but her heart told her differently, knowing she had to stay alive as long as possible for her friend. She still wanted to escape together with Jade.

Touya saw Gwenevere appear and just stand there in the middle of the room staring at the door. He lowered his book to his lap, wondering if the human woman had even noticed him sitting there. "You know you're not allowed out there, right?" He wasn't sure what was on her mind, but Touya didn't want to take the chance of her dashing out of the house. His fingers resting within his sky-blue hair, he looked down at the written words in front of him again. "Besides, if you try, I'll just drag you back here."

Gwenevere frowned at the ice master with a shake of her head as she made her way cautiously over towards the sofa closest to her. "I wasn't thinking about leaving," she lied slightly. "I was just thinking about a few things." She noticed the book that Touya was reading. "Why is it that you find the time to read when you could probably be out there making some demon or humans' life miserable?"

The ice master scoffed at her words, as his eyes continued to dart about on the pages in front of him. "I spent many years of my life fighting, and I feel I am fine with an occasional read here and there," he admitted, turning to the next page. "Besides, I do still train with Jin for the tournaments we have here."

"Demons fight to the death, it seems," Gwenevere pointed out from where she was still standing behind the sofa. "Where is the joy in that?" She had seen the horrible fights on the television when she was recuperating from the surgery she had endured.

"_**Some**_ demons do," Touya pointed out, as he lowered his book to get a better look at Gwenevere. "Not all of us do. And besides, some ask for death when they take or harm the ones others care about. I know Kurama's human mother has been threatened on occasion just to get the man to submit in a fight. He would kill any demon who dared do that to him."

"Who is Kurama?" Gwenevere asked, not recognizing the name. She was beginning to find a bit of comfort just speaking to the ice master now. Slowly, she made her way back around to the other side of the sofa to sit down finally.

"He's a friend who spared my life in a tournament I failed at," Touya responded, looking back down at his book. He was afraid if he kept eye contact with Gwenevere for too long, she would get spooked. "When I begged him to kill me, he spared my life instead to let me wander in the light as I wished to."

Gwenevere scoffed lightly, trying not to offend the demon or anything. "You sound like you're a vampire when you phrase it like that."

"Not a vampire, obviously," Touya said vaguely, as he knew Jin wouldn't want him to explain that they were once assassins, knowing Gwenevere would hold onto the excuse to fear them. He closed his book finally, once he found a stopping space. "I could have sworn, however, that Jin told you to read while he was gone." He was hoping to change the subject.

"He did, but that doesn't mean I have to," Gwenevere pointed out, resting her arms upon the nearby armrest of the sofa. "Truthfully, I just don't have it in me to read. I am still not used to being in this God awful place."

Touya sighed at her comments. "Not to be blunt, Gwen, but you pass up every opportunity given to you to get used to this 'God awful place'." Putting his book off to the side, he got to his feet and headed over to the kitchen. "Understand that not every demon here is going to want to drag you off and kill you. Besides, with Jin beside you, I doubt anybody is going to care to try."

Gwenevere turned around on the sofa she was resting upon to watch the ice master closely. "So you're saying that if you were in a strange world full of powerful creatures, you would gladly stroll down their roads even after they tortured you?"

"I can understand where it would be complicated to adjust, but if I couldn't get back home, I could either choose to live in the new world or just rot away slowly in it," Touya said, as he shifted through the refrigerator to find whatever it was he was looking for. He pulled out a drink he had been saving for himself before shutting the door to the fridge. "So what is your choice going to be?" Touya asked after taking one sip of his drink.

_I suppose he was right._

_I wasn't doing much living as it was down in that hell. The way things were heading, I was either going to grow-up under the two demons' care or just waste away in that building without any hope of going back to the Human World._

_I had to make a choice either way my fate was spun._

_12/2009_

Jin eventually made it back to the house looking rather roughed up in appearance. He knew it would probably startle Gwenevere to see him with even a trickle of blood on him, so Jin made sure to get his face as clean as possible before entering through the front door. He managed to put the groceries down on the counter within the kitchen with a toothy grin at being spared a lecture from Touya. However a sharp pain came quickly to his left earlobe. "Owe! Owe! Owe!" He griped.

"And just what took you so long?" Touya asked, keeping a tight hold on the wind demon's ear.

Managing to get free from his friend's grasp, Jin rubbed his injured ear with a grumble. "I was at the market when…a little somethin' went down!"

Touya turned to the bags to pull out an egg carton, which had apparently nothing but broken eggs within it, and it was now dripping all over the hardwood floor and within Touya's palm. "It sure must have been something, that's for sure." He made his way over towards the sink to dump the eggs within it for the time being. "What happened, Jin?"

"A few demons wanted to start somethin', so I let 'em have it!" Jin said in his defense. He didn't feel like he was in the wrong for trying to protect himself. He tugged on an out of place hair slightly before turning back to Touya. "There is no blood on me, is there?"

"No," Touya answered, "but there will be blood if you don't keep it together when you're out and about in Makai." He punched Jin's arm lightly to let him know he wasn't thrilled. "What is the matter with you!" Touya exclaimed quietly between them. "You're going out there and getting beaten on by demons when your human is back here fearful of that kind of thing. You're not helping the cause of breaking her into this world!"

Jin looked a little dumbfounded. "I beggin' your pardon, but are ya suggestin' I got beatin' in that brawl?"

"Knowing you, Jin, I have no doubt you coaxed them into beating on you." Touya knew Jin was always interested in a good fight. If there was ever a fair fight, Jin would dive within the opportunity. "Just go get yourself cleaned up. You look like hell," Touya said, as he went through the rest of the groceries to see what else didn't survive.

Jin made his way to his bedroom. He opened the door to the room to be a bit shocked by what he found there. Gwenevere was lying down upon his bed under the covers. She appeared to be out cold for the moment. It relieved Jin, as it meant he could sneak by her to get to the bathroom to wash the dirt off of his face.

"You were gone for quite awhile," Gwenevere finally said sleepily, stopping Jin right at the doorway to the bathroom. She turned around in the bed to get a good look at the wind demon in the dimly lit room. She didn't notice the dirt on his body or that his hair was messier than usual. "I could hear Touya griping under his breath out in the hallway while you were away."

"The boyo just needs to learn to relax a wee bit," Jin said with a wave of his hand at the way Touya was reacting. "Not to questin' the sudden change, but what caused ya to come back in 'ere?"

Gwenevere wasn't sure how to answer that at first. "I just had a talk with Touya is all," she whispered, but Jin's ears could easily pick up her words. "I guess I cannot find my way back to Human World, and I just have to accept that." She was silent for a moment before thinking back on her best friend. "However, if I am going to be stuck here, I would like to believe my friend is safe."

Jin smiled for a moment, hearing her sincere words. "I can help you look for her when I can. I am sure it'll be easy to go back to the place I got you from and find her." He was hoping that nobody had bought Jade yet. "Come 'morrow, I can help ya with it. Right now I have to clean up or Touya is gonna box me ears again."

She felt that if Jade were there in the same house, living within even the darkest pits of hell wouldn't be so bad for her. Turning on her side when the bathroom door shut, Gwenevere held the pillow close to her face. She was still feeling lethargic.

Once the groceries were shifted through, Touya began working on dinner for that night without Jin's consent on the matter. When he heard the door to his friend's bedroom open, he looked over his shoulder at Jin. "So how does fish sound tonight, as that seems to be the only thing that survived your 'brawl', as you call it?"

"So what exactly did ya tell the lass, eh?" Jin inquired, as he made it beside the ice master. He looked down at the salmon and shrimp he bought at the market. Admittedly, he was a bit surprised they did make it in one piece, but Jin wasn't about to tell Touya that.

"I was just telling her that she could either choose to live in this new life or rot away within it," Touya explained, as he worked on getting the fish prepared. "I guess she chose to live within this new life of hers." Taking the kitchen knife in his hand, he wasn't afraid to point it at Jin. "However, it is going to be your job to make sure she remains content to be here. I don't care if you have to pull her out of this house kicking and screaming—just do something with her."

Jin raised his hands to show he didn't want Touya to be throwing the knife around in front of his face. "Aye, aye, I'll be sure to do that with 'er."

* * *

Kurama made his way back to Spirit World the coming morning in hopes of seeing improvement within the young woman he had saved down in Makai. Fiorella was having a hard time trying to recall where she was previously held before he and Yusuke had managed to save her. Also, the demon heart within her wasn't reacting positively towards her. The redhead was worried she would turn into an enraged beast any moment or die from the slow beats—whichever came first. As he made his way through the halls, he was more than surprised to see Okuro standing within the hallway near Koenma's office. "What are you doing here, Okuro?" Kurama questioned. "Did Koenma throw you out of his office again?" He chuckled at the thought while continuing on his way to the area where the demon hearted humans were held.

"No," Okuro mumbled, following behind Kurama. "I was asked by—someone—to help with the slave trade."

Chuckling at the half-breeds words, he looked over his shoulder briefly at Okuro. "'Someone'? And just who is this 'someone'?" Kurama asked, continuing down the hall to stop at the door, which would lead him to the room where the humans were being watched over. He didn't want to open the door just yet with Okuro following so closely behind him.

"That doesn't matter," Okuro insisted, pushing the thought aside. "All that matters is that I was told that if I wanted to do this, I better do so under…" He paused and mumbled his last few chosen words, "…your words…"

"Under my words? Is that so?" Kurama admittedly felt a bit uneasy about letting Okuro along on the missions, but he knew that his son was eager to help. He was just worried about future problems with the wild youth. "Alright, fine with me. However, you have to do exactly what I tell you to do!" He wasn't about to let Okuro get himself into trouble and possibly killed. Remembering what door he was at and the feelings Okuro had about the current slave trade, he pointed at the young half-demon. "It might be wise if you stay out here."

Okuro waved his right ear, confused as to why Kurama would say that. "What's behind the door?"

"It isn't something you need to see," said Kurama, as he pushed Okuro backwards gently. "Just stay out here, or I will make sure your feet stay glued to the floor." He didn't need to egg on Okuro's feelings any further, prompting him to quickly enter the room and lock it behind him. Even if the half-fox demon was growling angrily on the opposite side of the door, Kurama ignored it, as he headed over towards the bed Fiorella's bed. The bed was within a square, iron cage. It was a horrible thing to do, but after the first few had gone insane, it was the only humane thing they could do with them.

Fiorella was having difficulty breathing, it seemed. Her eyes were closed, and she was sweating profusely. She wasn't used to the slow beating of her heart, and her body wasn't going to take much more of it, obviously. When she felt someone touching her hand, Fiorella opened her brown eyes to see a blurry vision of Kurama before he finally came into focus. "Kurama…?" She questioned weakly. "It's been awhile..."

Kurama could tell she was struggling to even talk properly. "Don't strain yourself too much," he encouraged, placing his hand upon her dyed, purple hair. He knew asking her to try and remember the details of being in Makai would be selfish, so Kurama avoided the topic. "You haven't been feeling any changes aside from the shortness of breath, have you?"

Closing her eyes and relaxing her head back on the pillow, she struggled to think clearly. "I-I don't think so…" Her brown eyes fell upon Kurama's green. "My chest is just hurting me really badly." She hissed from the pain, clenching her fists slightly upon the bedcovers before relaxing them once more.

"Your body isn't used to the demon heart they gave you," Kurama explained from her bedside. He kept her nearest hand within his, to allow her the knowledge of someone nearby willing to help her. "Why demons think it is a wise idea to transplant in a completely different heart into a completely different creature is beyond me."

"Answer me honestly," the woman said breathlessly. "Am I going to die?"

The words hit Kurama hard. He could only imagine the hell doctors had to go through just to tell patients they wouldn't make it or tell loved ones that someone they cared for passed. He lowered his head momentarily before having the courage to look Fiorella back into her brown eyes. "To be honest, I am not sure your chances are looking well." He saw the color fade from her face, and she closed her eyes at having to hear that news. "Your body isn't adjusting well to your new heart, and it is choosing to either transform you emotionally into a monster or shut down."

"What did I do to deserve this?" She asked with a shake of her head. The pain within her body was about to drive her mad. Bringing her hands to her face, she tried to make the nightmare stop from progressing onwards.

He could tell that the heart was starting to drive her crazy, prompting him to grab her by the wrists and bring her arms back down to the bedside to shackle her to the bed to prevent her from trying to hurt herself or others. "I am sorry," he whispered sincerely. "This is to make sure you don't bring harm to yourself when you forget who and what you are."

Fiorella was ignorant to what was going on. She didn't even notice that she was breathing so heavily, she almost sounded like she was growling like a disgruntled beast. "What…what are you talking about?" Her nails were digging into the covers of the bed beneath her, almost destroying it.

"When the pain becomes too much, humans cannot come to terms with it," Kurama explained, bringing his hands to his lap. "It drives them insane, and they start acting like a rabid demon. All they become filled with is a desire to kill—those that live, anyways—until their system burns out."

"No…no, that will not happen to me!" Fiorella yelled angrily, struggling to get up and leap at Kurama only to be reminded that she was bound to the bed. She was snorting angrily and baring her teeth till the agony of her new heart prompted her to flop back down to the bed with a slight whimper and a few quick breaths.

"Fiorella, I am sorry for this," Kurama said once more, shaking his head disapprovingly at the outcome of her transplant. He backed up towards the exit of the cell. Kurama made sure that the woman was secure well behind the iron bars before leaning against them to watch her just fight with herself. Realizing he was back to square one, he was about to turn around and head back out to meet with Okuro only to find the young boy standing right behind him. "Okuro? How did you get in here?" Kurama knew he had locked the doors when he came inside.

Okuro didn't answer right away, as he watched Fiorella behind the bars of the large cell she was confined within. "I didn't realize that the transplant was affecting the humans this much." His black ears slowly came to rest lazily about his head.

Kurama sighed somberly at the situation as well. "Ever since the demons in Makai have gotten wise that we cannot drag humans back to Human World if they have a demon heart, we've been getting more and more of these cases." He paused momentarily. "The first one we had went into a stage of possession, it seemed. When the insanity hit her, she started biting and clawing not only at herself but at others as well if they tried to help her. If she could, she would have chosen to kill those that dared walk near her." Kurama could never forget the insane, inhuman look in her eyes when she would stare at him.

"What did you end up doing with her?" Okuro asked, as he got closer to the cold, iron bars of the imprisonment surrounding the transforming, human woman.

"We had to strap her down to one of the beds here, like she was a mental patient," Kurama answered. "We found her dead one day, and she had chewed off her own tongue sometime before her body stopped working." He remembered walking into her room to find blood everywhere from her own handy work. "We continue to get a number of the humans that have already gone through the transplant process. It is why we are trying to find the main base of operation for this sort of thing," Kurama explained, as he pocketed his hands. "They are hiding the humans until they are sold."

Angrily, Okuro pushed himself off of the bars he was leaning against and headed back over towards the redhead. "You're taking me with you on your next mission," he practically demanded, shaking his finger at the fox demon.

"I will, if you promise me your emotions won't make the best of you." Kurama couldn't help but feel uneasy with Okuro's feelings surrounding the situation at hand. "If I have to, I'll let Yusuke watch over you, and believe me, you won't want that." He knew Yusuke wouldn't hesitate to punch Okuro around if the young boy messed up.

Hearing Fiorella stirring in the cell once more, his black ears twisted back to catch the sound before turning his head to see the woman still in absolute agony. "I don't care what you do—I just want to come along."


End file.
